Everyday Monsters Are The Scariest of All: On the eve of Halloween, KBS & Missing Children Society of Canada launch campaign to dispel 'stranger danger' myth

MONTREAL, CA--(Marketwired - October 30, 2017) - In 2016, 45,609 Canadian children were reported missing. The popular assumption is that these children have been victims of random evil -- a stranger on the street appearing out of nowhere in an unmarked white van to perpetrate his/her malignity -- but the reality is quite different. In most cases, child abductors are someone the child has a pre-existing relationship with.

This Halloween, creative agency KBS has partnered with the Missing Children Society of Canada to debunk this myth and to raise awareness of this frightening reality by creating the 'Everyday Monster': a true-to-life face and resulting Halloween mask inspired from a database of convicted child abductors.

The face itself was first created using photo recognition AI and a composite of facial feature data points, compiled from a publically-available database of mugshots from 78 different child abductors. This hauntingly familiar persona was then transformed into a custom Halloween mask handmade by Trick or Treat Studios' Chris Russell.

"We created the 'Everyday Monster' to call attention to the fact that cases of missing children are not limited to strictly Amber Alerts and the stereotype of strangers driving white unmarked cargo vans," says MCSC Chief Executive Officer, Amanda Pick. "Children are reported missing every day and those cases include Vulnerable Youth, Endangered Runaways and even being abducted by a non-custodial parent."

The 'Everyday Monster' project included digital video assets, rich media and traditional posters. All data analytics, facial reconstruction, and content production was handled in-house by KBS. To view the video visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtAUoEa5QA4&t=13s

Over 45,000 children are reported missing in Canada every year. While recorded accounts of stranger abductions do exist, the vast majority of children who are abducted, sexually abused or otherwise harmed by an adult are victimized by someone they know -- often a family member or someone close to the family and sometimes by a trusted adult friend.

To combat this alarming statistic, MCSC has invested heavily in creating groundbreaking technology platforms to assist law enforcement in their search and rescue efforts.

'Code Search' is an enterprise platform corporations can use to engage employees as Digital Volunteers to assist in the search for a missing child, while Most Valuable Network allows people to donate their social network feeds to amplify missing child alerts in real time as soon as they happen.

Last year, Microsoft signed on as a global technology partner to help scale the organizations' efforts and to assist MCSC in partnering their technology solutions to other missing children organizations worldwide. Microsoft is also currently working on a new mobile innovation targeted specifically at Vulnerable Youth and Endangered Runaways that will be widely available for download North America-wide in 2018.

CREDITS:

Client: Missing Children Society of Canada

Agency: KBS New York / KBS Montreal

About Missing Children Society of Canada

Established in 1986, The Missing Children Society of Canada is the only non-profit organization in Canada that utilizes an in-house team of former law enforcement to actively investigate and search for missing children. MCSC, their partners and supporters are dedicated to helping reunite missing children with their searching families through professional investigations, emergency response, public awareness and family support programs. www.mcsc.ca

About KBS

KBS is a global communications agency that helps companies thrive in today's tech-infused culture. Our global network includes offices in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Montreal, London and Shanghai. Our clients around the world include BMW, American Express, Unilever, Bank of Montreal, Harman, Stanley Black & Decker, Thomas Cook Group, Vodafone, Compare the Market, Alibaba, Jose Cuervo and Vanguard. For more information, visit www.kbsagency.com

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2017/10/30/11G147172/Images/KBS-5cc521c76311a0efad6c05e6d2ee6e4d.jpg

Embedded Video Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtAUoEa5QA4&t=13s