"Poison the Fantasy" campaign targets traveling sex buyers with hard-hitting warnings about exposure, harm and real-world consequences

SEATTLE, June 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- DNA&STONE, the full-service agency that leads with Radical Empathy, today unveiled a new anti-sex-trafficking public service campaign designed to deter traveling sex buyers expected to visit certain cities during this Summer's highly anticipated championship soccer events. The campaign, titled "Poison the Fantasy," is built to confront demand directly by disrupting the fantasy that fuels commercial sexual exploitation and exposing the legal, personal and social consequences of buying sex.

The campaign launches amid warnings that major international sporting events can drive spikes in sex trafficking and sex tourism. With millions expected to visit the U.S for the upcoming championship soccer games, the King County Prosecutor's Human Trafficking Unit warns: "We do expect to see a spike in sex trafficking. With the event comes a ton of [sex] tourism."

Developed after extensive research and interviews with detectives, undercover police officers, former pimps and bookers, former sex buyers, sex-trafficking survivors, local advocates and nonprofit and community organizations, it became clear that, unfortunately, humanizing the women and children they exploit will not stop these buyers. However, the clear insight that emerged to actually stop the behavior is the very real risk and consequences buyers face of getting caught by their spouse, partner, children or friends. They will lose everything that is part of their current life - their marriage, relationships, children, jobs and standing in their community.

"With this campaign, we set out to dismantle the fantasy that fuels demand," said Alan Brown, Co-Founder, DNA&STONE. "For us, Radical Empathy means refusing to judge anyone involved, and instead finding ways to reach people where they are so we can interrupt harmful behavior and help end the exploitation of women and children  it causes. When buyers are made to personally feel the real-world impact of their actions, indifference becomes much harder to maintain. Real change begins when accountability is paired with an opportunity to confront the deeper issues driving the behavior."

At the center of the work is DNA&STONE's provocative creative strategy that uses the visual language of solicitation sites and sex-buying forums to interrupt buyers in familiar spaces. Through what the agency calls "Detestimonials," the campaign places the voices of family members and others affected by sex buying directly in the path of potential buyers, turning moments of pursuit into moments of reckoning.

Those messages include emotionally direct testimony from people closest to buyers. In one example, a real ex-wife says, "While he can never escape the fact that he used another human, and paid her for it - I can never escape the fact that I married a person who did that." In another, a daughter says, "My dad was buying girls my age, 16! He no longer felt safe to me." DNA&STONE specifically designed the campaign to tap into a buyer's number one fear: exposure.

"As a direct service provider working every day with women and children being exploited through sex trafficking, I see firsthand the harm and violence they endure," said Kristine Moreland, Founder and Director, The More We Love, one of DNA&STONE's partners in this project. "That is why I stand behind a campaign that directly targets buyers and holds them accountable for fueling this exploitation, especially during global events. When demand rises, we are the ones responding in real time, opening more beds at our crisis center to create a safe place for those seeking a way out. This campaign is a powerful opportunity to both confront that demand and reach communities at a scale we otherwise could not, helping to shift awareness, accountability, and ultimately reduce the need for crisis response."

The PSA effort is planned as a multi-channel campaign spanning broadcast, online video, connected TV, digital display, retargeting, bathroom posters, billboards, wild postings, mobile billboards and projections near the fields on key game days. The agency also made a website to learn more called buysexpayprices.com, which is intended to reach buyers and share this critical messaging directly on their own screens.

"I lived most of my life, unaware of the life-destroying impact of sex trafficking," said Mike Dunn, President, Dunn Lumber. "When we purchased a lumberyard in the heart of the blade, we learned that lesson close-up. I just want to do what we can to get the word out that this is not a victimless crime but rather it kills the hearts of everyone involved in it: the buyers, the sellers, and those who are bought and sold."

The campaign is not only about awareness, but about intervention. While confronting buyers with the risk of public shame, family fallout, divorce, health consequences and moral accountability is intended to disrupt behavior, the broader goal is lasting change. Once buyers are exposed to the reality and consequences of their actions, many begin recognizing their need for help, healing and accountability. The campaign seeks to open the door to education, support and resources that can empower individuals to understand their behavior and pursue meaningful change.

DNA&STONE partnered with bold companies from around the country to bring this vision to life. The work was 100% pro bono, with support from anonymous community donations and discounted or free media space from partners including The More We Love, Dunn Lumber,  KIRO/CBS, Pacific Outdoor, NW Polite Society, Gumball Dynasty, StackAdapt and others.

To learn more about DNA&STONE, please visit www.dnaandstone.com.

About DNA&STONE
DNA&STONE is a full-service creative agency that is grounded in a proprietary strategic approach called Radical Empathy, DNA&STONE goes beyond just understanding, to feeling the experiences, perspectives and root causes that drive consumers and clients, resulting in work with deep emotional intelligence. DNA&STONE was recently named Ad Age Small Agency of the Year in 2025 and was shortlisted in Adweek's 2025 Agency of the Year Awards. Clients include BECU, Amazon, Providence, MCU, and NBC News. To learn more about us, please visit www.dnaandstone.com.  

Contact: 
Gabriella Schatz 
gabriella@gjspublicrelations.com  

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SOURCE DNA&STONE