Mekanism's Safety Shake Gets Students Safely Back to School

Educators around America are mapping out safe ways for students to return to schools, classrooms and dorms while social distancing.

To solve this problem, creative agency Mekanism partnered with artists Young & Sick and Curtis Roach (from the viral ‘Bored in the House’ video), and social platform Triller, to form a solution – the Safety Shake! Intended to be a replacement for a handshake, fist-bump or high five, Safety Shake is a contact-free way to greet your friends. Just double tap your heart and extend your greeting.

As a father of two, Mekanism’s CEO Jason Harris was inspired to create this campaign when he found that his sons were nervous and anxious about what to expect when they saw their friends in-person after months of keeping their distance. Jason pulled together some of his creative colleagues to think about some realistic and creative ways to urge students to maintain distance, while easing their worry.

“We all need to be vigilant and take precautions to keep our children safe as they partially return to school. Wash your hands, watch your distance, wear a mask...but also, kids still need to be kids and have some fun. The Safety Shake is a way for them to keep their distance while being creative and connecting with their classmates,” said Jason Harris.

Mekanism is also offering free, downloadable posters for teachers to hang in their classrooms and remind students of the important safety protocols via the website.

“Safety Shake can be a fun way to say ‘hi’ to people at a safe distance. It's been a crazy 2020 so hopefully, this will allow people to have a little fun and brings them a little joy. Keeping your distance is still important right now so I'm excited to see what people create,” said Curtis Roach.