Editor’s note: Kristin Schwitzer is president of Beacon Research, Severna Park, Md. Dana Slaughter is head of Slaughter Branding, Dallas.

We can all remember what it was like to be a teenager. Each of us likely got more than enough advice and directions from parents, teachers and other role models about what to do and, sometimes more importantly, what not to do, as they tried to guide us on the path to being mature, thoughtful adults. Half the battle was just getting our attention; the other half was delivering the message in a way that got through to us.

So, imagine being given the challenge of persuading not just one teen but an entire generation of teenagers to stop being hurtful to others. This was the challenge presented last year to ad agency ArnoldNYC from The Ad Council and GLSEN (The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network). Specifically, ArnoldNYC was tasked with raising awareness among straight U.S. teens around the hurtfulness to their gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender (GLBT) counterparts of using slurs like “That’s so gay.”

As it turned out, step one was to grab teens’ attention. Step two was to get through to them on their terms.

Phrases and words like “That’s so gay,” “fag,” “faggot” and “dyke” are being used as insults with increasing frequency, creating an atmosphere, especially in schools, where GLBT teens feel disrespected, unwanted and unsafe.

In the spring of 2008, among the critical facts known about this situation were:

•  79 percent of high school students hear the words fag, faggot or dyke every day;

•  90 percent of GLBT teenage students are harassed and physically assaulted because of who they are or are perceived to be;

•  GLBT students feel unsafe and are five times more likely to miss school, contributing to lower GPAs and college enrollment rates;

•  every five hours, a gay teenager ends his or her own life; they are two to t...