Archive for Non-Profit
Levi’s Campaign for Harvey Milk Highschool
Posted by: | CommentsLevi Strauss & Co just recently launched the “Give them hope Now” Campaign. This campaign is to raise money for the Hetrick-Martin Institue, which is a non profit organization that that supports the Harvey Milk High School. As you can imagine the Harvey Milk High School is dedicated to support and help gays, lesbians, transgenders, and bisexuals during there time of need. They like to think of themselves as a school that is there for them when their family isnt. When their family kicks them out of there houses and wont support them. The school provides after school support groups and support services. At first when i viewed the ad i was unclear of what the message was for…Here is one of the commercials… What are your thoughts can you tell what it is for?? Also with Levis supporting a messsage like this do you think that people that are againt gay marriage and are homophobic may stay away from a company like this and stay away from purchasing their products? they have gone about delivering this message in a very modern way Rob Toledo, senior account director, Razorfish, Seattle says “We’ve put together a very impactful social media outreach strategy. We’ll be reaching out to bloggers and like-minded organizations and people in the LGBT community,” Do you think they did this because this topic is more of a modern issue and traditionalist might not agree and therefor they figured they could reach more of there target market? or because it cost less to get the message out??
Tom’s Shoes goes national!
Posted by: | CommentsI had to do a double-take when I saw this commercial… actually, I rewound it 
AT&T is featuring Tom’s Shoes in their latest commercial!!
I really don’t have a whole lot to say (probably because it’s nearly midnight and my brain is fried from wrapping up final projects) but thought everyone would want to know.
BARE YOUR SOLE…
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Earlier in the semester I introduced TOMs shoes to AdVirtues, a shoe company with a mission, to provide shoes to people all over the world. For every pair of TOMs shoes you buy they donate one pair to a person in need in a third world country. While most may not 
think that providing someone with shoes is that important, think again. Cuts and sores on feet can lead to serious infections, allow entry points for parasites living on the ground and even cause diseases that cripple you, all of which are preventable by wearing shoes. Because of this, people all over the world in developing nations are dying daily because of a parasite that entered through the soles of your feet. In order to raise awareness, TOMs declared today, “bare your sole”
day in which they called people all over the nation to leave their shoes at home. Walking on the SMU campus barefoot was a new experience and gave me a glimpse into the lives of those less fortunate. It hurts and little pebbles seem to find a way to lodge themselves into your soles. It taught me a great deal of what life might be like in places like these and taught me the value of shoes so go outside, walk around and
BARE YOUR SOLES
and together we can change the fate of people halfway around the globe.
High (Virtuous) Performers
Posted by: | CommentsI know this isn’t an incredibly new ad, but I just remembered this campaign from my Survey of Advertising class sophomore year. I believe it is still going on, but we studied Tiger Woods as a “celebrity endorser” of Accenture. I remember when that was on the test I asked my dad about the partnership since he works there. I always thought it was excessive that Tiger Woods a spokesperson for Buick, Nike, and Accenture that I knew of at the time. My dad explained to me that Tiger doesn’t actually get paid to be a spokesperson for Accenture but rather in exchange for his appearances and ads, the company consults and manages one of his non-profit agencies, Tiger Woods Learning Center, for him. I believe this is a great example of using advertising for good and really exemplifies a selfless act by a celebrity. And on top of that I think that the ads with Tiger are very inspiring as well.
Amnesty International has Faith in Obama
Posted by: | CommentsIf you have faith…
Amnesty International released the above video on Inauguration Day 2009.
The text in the ad reads:
Day 1: Global Economy Fixed
Day 20: Global Warming Reversed
Day 83: World Peace Established
Day 94: Meteor Defense Shield Created
Day 100: A walk in the park
The message goes on the say that “we don’t expect the impossible in his first one-hundred days in office, but Barack Obama has said that he would close Guantanamo and end torture.”
Going to the site tied to this campaign, obama100days.org, you see a checklist of things Amnesty deems possible and hopes Obama will be able to complete during his first one-hundred days in office.
I thought this was interesting, especially in relation to the post below about the Bank of Obama. It shows how different organizations and individuals are dealing with these tough times and how all eyes are turned on President Obama. Obviously, as this video was created by Amnesty International and the Bank of Obama by three young guys in Austin, TX, it is comparing apples to oranges. However, although their methods are extremely different, I do feel both are intended to make those who come into contact with them feel better about the current world state. One does this through humor and the other through a more serious tone that carries the message of keeping faith and inspiring action to be taken where possible. In my opinion, the virtues promoted in the Amnesty International ad, Inspiration, Hope, and Making a Difference, are what distinguishes it as “virtuous” advertising.
“Philanthropy 2.0″
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I found this post about a project that three guys are taking on called “Philanthropy 2.0.” They feel that in this new-age the 1.0 ways of reaching people are dead and non-profit organizations are having trouble with this. They do not understand the powers of social media yet and these three guys want to help. They have posted a survey in their post to help them with their project. I took it, and it just asks you some general information about you and then some information about charitable organizations you donate to. I think this is a great project because it will really help non-profit organizations build their donor base if they can get the word out through social media. This is definitely a good way to use the power of social media for good and help non-profit organizations out in a tough economic time.
Take a look at the post and take the survey at:
http://mashable.com/2009/02/05/social-causes-survey/
Non-Profit vs. Commercial Advertising
Posted by: | CommentsIn thinking about advertisements with a socially responsible or “positive” message, it is almost impossible not to make the distinction between non-profit and commercial advertising. Obviously, public service announcements and most other non-profit advertising usually highlight a moral order or ethical code because that is their business. They are essentially selling these ideas of social advocacy, etc. (For a wesbite that is dedicated to the display of and commentary on international social and non-profit advertising, see http://osocio.org/. The examples below are from their website.)
Headline reads: “The air that cools your home heats up the world”
Advertiser: Columbia (outdoor clothier outfit); Agency: Prolam Y&R; Santiago, Chile
Advertiser: Stop the Traffik; Agency: Leagas Delaney London, UK
In the past, it has been much less common to find such uplifting or socially aware messages in commercial advertising. However, as the very existence of advirtues.com attests, that is all starting to change.
The question that I want to pose here is what are the implications, if any, in using these “feel good” messages, typically associated with non-profits and other philanthropic organizations, to promote the sale of a product?
Are these ads commercializing and prostituting our values and beliefs or are they simply a fresh new face of the industry that should be commended?
Hopefully this will encite a fruitful discussion and really get us thinking!
