Ballsy Dodgeballs Remind Gym Teachers They Can’t Dodge Sex Education

VML Vancouver, in partnership with Shift Education, have launched a new campaign to raise awareness for the need of safe environments for young people to learn sexual education. In Canadian schools, gym teachers teach sex ed and many have been avoiding the curriculum altogether. Yes, sex education can be awkward. But if kids aren’t getting the proper sex ed they need in school, they turn to other sources that could be misleading or even dangerous. According to LetsStopAIDS' 2023 Sex Lives Report, two-thirds of young Canadians felt unprepared for sex after receiving traditional sex education, with six out of ten youth citing the internet as their primary source of sexual information.

To spread the word about Shift’s program, The Sexual Education Circuit, they created something teachers couldn’t dodge – The Undodgeable Mailer - Real questions about sex that young people are asking online, printed on real-life dodgeballs. At first glance the brightly coloured balls look like traditional gym equipment, but on closer inspection teachers are hit with questions like ‘’Will bears attack me on my period’’ and ‘’If sperm have tails, why don’t we?. The cleverly disguised messages direct the teachers that have received them to the Shift’s website where they can sign up to receive The Sex Education Circuit. 

‘’We wanted to raise awareness of Shift Education among PHE teachers by creating something that that felt fun and familiar, but carried a hidden message. The dodgeballs feature real awkward questions asked by teens, that highlight the need for a safe learning environment’ like the one Shift provides’, says Jake Hope, creative director at VML Vancouver.

BC-based Shift Education was founded by teacher and certified sexual health educator, Jessy Wollen, and is dedicated to helping young people learn about sexuality, Understanding that the sex education curriculum can be awkward to deliver, Shift’s 'Sex Education Circuit' is a program that creates safe space for students to learn about sex ed, puberty, and healthy relationships. It’s game-based stations aim to take the pressure off teachers and help relieve the awkwardness. 
"Teaching sex ed isn’t easy’’, says Jessy Wollen, founder of Shift Education. ‘’ But with a playful nudge from the The Undodgeable Mailer, we’re empowering gym teachers to stop dodging the hard questions. Now, the ball is in their court’’.

The Undodgeable Mailer campaign launched in November in staff rooms across the province, leveraging teacher-targeted emails, posters, and social media to drive awareness of The Sex Education Circuit.