Kids Face Horrifying Death During Stay-In-School PSA

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When you know something is going to end badly you watch with a high degree of dread and, in this particular case, wonder just how the kids in this Australian Learn For Life Stay-In-School PSA, created by Perth production firm Henry & Aaron, are going to meet their demise. There in a VW bus. Will they crash? There at the ocean. Will it be a shark?

No. Not even close. It will be worse. Much, much worse.

UPDATE: Great. And now it's probably fake. Just a promotion for the video's creators.

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by Steve Hall    Jan-30-14    
Topic: Cause



Indians Take Washington Redskins to Task Over 'R-Word'

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Well here's a powerful message from the National Congress of American Indians that celebrates the plight, achievements, attitude and history of the American Indian. The two minute video shares a collage of Indians, their place in America and pays tribute to their tribal names.

All throughout the video, created by goodness Mfg., we are given words that describe these proud people. At the end we are asked why a national football team still uses a derogatory word, referred to as the "R Word" by native Americans, as its name and mascot.

If only this were running during the Super Bowl.

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by Steve Hall    Jan-29-14    
Topic: Cause, Super Bowl 2014



Time Stops, Drivers Talk in Distressing Road Safety PSA

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We're not quite sure what it is. Or why. But New Zealand, Australia and the UK consistently create the best road safety commercial in the world. This new one from Clememger BBDO for New Zealand's Transport Agency is a bit different in its approach from PSAs that drag us through the horror of an automobile accident and more akin to the Sussex Safer Roads Embrace Life PSA which employed slow motion.

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by Steve Hall    Jan- 7-14    
Topic: Cause



3 Reasons The Ad Banner Isn't Dead

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Oh how we've wanted to write a headline like that for so long. OK, maybe not. But it did get you to click on the headline, right? And, really, clicking is what this is all about. Today, Swedish agency Forsman & Bodenfors has given us reason to believe that, once again, clicking on a banner is a good thing. A very, very good thing.

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by Steve Hall    Dec-12-13    
Topic: Cause



Two Agencies Sell Empty Boxes to Benefit Children's Charities

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Rampant commercialism. Black Friday. Idiots fighting over TV sets at Walmart. Is anyone sick of the disgustingly selfish focus on commercialism? Barton F. Graf 9000's Jerry Graf and TDA_Boulder's Jonathan Schoenberg are. The two men who ran into each other at a recent industry event decided to do something about it.

The two agencies have launched Bawx, a site on which, well, you can buy boxes. But with a twist. The boxes are both toys for children and a means of raising money for children's charities Blue Sky Bridge in Boulder and Charley Davidson Fund in Boston.

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by Steve Hall    Dec-12-13    
Topic: Cause



Third Cannes Chimera Receives 900 Entries From 79 Contries

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The third Cannes Chimera global communications challenge, answering to the competitive creative brief "Help Lead the Fight Against Extreme Poverty," has received a total of 900 entries from 79 different countries, more than half of which are from advertising and brand communication agencies.

The brief, set by Cannes Lions and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was launched during the 60th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June this year, with a bid for new communication concepts that will incite the public to support an emerging international agenda to ensure that poverty is virtually eliminated by 2030.

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by Steve Hall    Nov-26-13    
Topic: Cause, Industry Events



Homeless Shelter Raises Money by Offering Naming Rights to Everything in the Building

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In the spirit of Thanksgiving and the holidays, McKinney has launched Names for Change, a new campaign for Urban Ministries of Durham that asks and important question; if brands are willing to pay millions of dollars for the naming rights to a sports stadium, what can a shelter in Durham raise when it sells naming rights to all of the items in the building?

Visitors to namesforchange.org can claim the naming rights to an item and customize a certificate in their own name or in honor of someone else. From toilets to teddy bears to tomato sauce, it's all to help more people get from homelessness into homes of their own.

by Steve Hall    Nov-26-13    
Topic: Cause



UN Women's Google Autocomplete Campaign Gets Positive Spin

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By now you've all seen the UN Women campaign that used Google Search's autocomplete feature to indicate how pervasive discrimination against women is in the world. Actual Google searches for "women should" were auto-completed with "stay at home," "be slaves," "be in the kitchen" and "not speak in church." Searches that began with "women shouldn't" were auto-completed with "have rights," "vote," "work" and "box."

One woman, Nicole D'Alonzo who runs Tastedaily, decided to turn the tables on that campaign and give it a more positive spin. D'Alonzo re-imagined the ad with her likeness and re-written copy. The ad now begins with "women will" and auto-completes with "empower women," "take credit for their wins," "lead more companies" and "be president."

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by Steve Hall    Oct-22-13    
Topic: Cause



School Prank Turned Into Awareness of Teen Pregnancy in Developing Nations

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Think back for a minute to the days when you were in junior or senior high. What would you have thought or said (or what did you actually think or say) if a new girl who was pregnant joined your school? Did you relate to her differently than you would have had she not been pregnant? Did you have a clear understanding of her situation?

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by Steve Hall    Oct-10-13    
Topic: Cause



PSY, LMFAO, MIA Perform Sans Music for Anti-Piracy Campaign

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Here's a really strange -- but intriguingly unique -- campaign from Madrid-based Lola/Lowe and Partners for Kiss TV which aims to take on music piracy. Three videos feature songs performed without music by PSY, MIA and LMFAO. The three music videos end with the tagline, "If you take out the music, you take out their meaning."

Will they be as popular as the originals?

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by Steve Hall    Sep-23-13    
Topic: Cause