Here is an Ad About Struggle

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"Soul Soldiers" is a reminder about the black guys who fought for America in Vietnam, even as they struggled against racist beliefs at home.

The ad is for the Senator John Heinz History Center and it ran through '07. It got an award for cultural awareness at the ADDYs last month.

by Angela Natividad    Apr- 4-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Cause, Good



Do the Green Thing Find New Purpose For Retired Turntable

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With sort of the WTFness of that beer commercial but not really, comes this video for Do the Green Thing which urges people to SAVE THE PLANET by taking short showers. The message is delivered with old school cut and paste and a turntable. Amazing how that odl shit works so well together.

The dets: "Short Sharp Shower Deck was thought up and shot by talented Green Thing friend Michael Wright. It was lit by Stuart Bunce and features the music of John Hegley, Zeep, The Meanies, Martin Jones and Tom Williams."

Will you take a shorter shower because of this?

by Steve Hall    Apr- 3-08    
Topic: Cause, Good, Video



But Does It Come with Guerrilla Maintenance?

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You've heard of the sometimes-subversive art of guerrilla marketing. But it's got nothin' on guerrilla gardening: One group's valiant attempts to improve public landscapes with illicit cultivation.

Guerrilla Communication says guerrilla gardening -- gardening on someone else's land without permission -- has been going on for centuries. Eco aesthetes are encouraged to take up a spade and alight upon the nearest eyesore with sunflowers at the ready.

Nice. Very Green Samaritan. Now what I could use is a super-awesome guerrilla room-cleaner.

by Angela Natividad    Apr- 2-08    
Topic: Cause, Guerilla, Outdoor



Cause CGM. For Kids! Way to Jump on All the Bandwagons at Once.

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By Kids for Kids (BKFK) and DoSomething.org have launched the "Advertise Your Cause Media Challenge." It's geared to kids who feel a burning desire to make a difference. (Collective "awwwww.")

If you live in the US and are under 19, you can participate. Get entries in before 12 noon EST on June 30. Enter here.

The "cleverest, most powerful and most impactful" campaign will be showered with PSA-style media exposure and a $10,000 grand prize. Yeah, that kind of money would make a stoner pro-DARE in a pin-drop.

by Angela Natividad    Apr- 2-08    
Topic: Cause, Online



Clorox Uses Music Mix to Bring Melody to Schools

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Here's a taste of the stuff on The Blue Sky Project, a promotional CD created by DDB, SF for Clorox. Some of the tracks were in Clorox ads, then extended to beef up the album.

50 percent of the price goes to Music in Schools Today (MuST), which brings music programs to low-income neighborhoods.

I was gonna say it would be hard to associate Clorox with any kind of music, mostly because I can smell bleach wafting out of the kitchen and there is nothing musical about it.

But The Blue Sky Project is calm and unpretentious -- an okay fit for the (slowly evolving?) household brand. I'm happy the agency avoided the temptation of using electronica or hip-hop. Getting people to listen isn't hard, as long as you avoid being something you're not.

by Angela Natividad    Apr- 1-08    
Topic: Brands, Cause, Good, Promotions



Mug Stirs Guilt Trip into Every Hot Drink

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To draw attention to climate change, the World Wildlife Federation (WWF) made special mugs with the world's land mass printed on them. The land disappears when you fill the cup with something hot, leaving parched parties with scathing food for thought:

"A global climate increase of just two degrees Celsius will have irreversible, catastrophic effects. www.wwfchina.org."

WWF disseminated 250 of these sunny mugs to attendees at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali. The Dutch Environmental Minister said it "dramatically captured the critical nature of the global warming issue."

Dismal. Also, reason No. 546 to pick up an ice-cold Coca-Cola.

by Angela Natividad    Apr- 1-08    
Topic: Cause, Events, Packaging, Promotions



To Combat Underage Drinking, Alabama Targets Parents, Not Kids

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The Parentalyzer was put together by Red Square Agency to tackle underage drinking in Alabama. It has stats on drinking and driving, tips for keeping tabs on teens, and ads where parents openly admit to letting their critters sip the sauce every once in awhile.

This is one of those campaigns that would piss me off if I were a bottle-slinging Alabama mom, but it's otherwise a riot to inflict on other people. (Especially while they're at work!) Are you brave enough to take the Parentalyzer quiz, which -- unlike your closest friends -- might be man (or, well, machine) enough to tell you that you're raising a future member of the AA?

Think about that over a nice soothing gin.

more »

by Angela Natividad    Mar-31-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Cause, Online



Fergie Remixes 'Glamorous' to Promote Safe Sex and AIDS-Fighting Lip Gloss

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That tangle of head and hair spilling out of a corset is Fergie posing for Mac's VIVA GLAM campaign, which sells lip gloss to fight AIDS.

Fergie remixed her Glamorous single for the VIVA GLAM VI Special Edition Lipglass, joining spokeswomen like Eve and Dita von Teese to combat AIDS with vanity (which, unlike the compulsion to love thy neighbor, is irresistible). Download the song, watch video footage or send safe sex e-cards from the Mac Cosmetics site.

Advertising Age says 100 percent of proceeds for the $14 lip veneer will go to the MAC AIDS Fund. Considering the thought of Fergie hashing out her (safe!!!) sex life makes us grimace in a way that scares small children, we'd hope for no less. Bravo, MAC.

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by Angela Natividad    Mar-26-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Cause, Celebrity



Obama Girl Tells Hillary to Stop Hating on Barak.

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Who knew? Really. Who knew Obama Girl would amount to anything more than a one-off from some random YouTube chick with a "crush" on Obama. Well, it seems a good percentage of the nation has a crush on Obama and that crush might get him all the way to the White House this fall.

In the latest Obama Girl video from Barely Political, Amber takes down Hillary and urges her to stop hating on Obama. Amber tells Hillary her quest is becoming hopeless, that America is Obama Nation, and that her continued attacks are just making the McCain option look better which, of course, is not good for the Democrats' cause.

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by Steve Hall    Mar-25-08    
Topic: Cause, Good, Political, Racy, Video



Signs Say 'Thanks!' When Rooms Go Dark

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To encourage Philippine businesses to save energy, BBDO Guerrero Ortega paired up with the World Wide Fund (WWF) to launch glow-in-the-dark stickers that say things like "Thanks for Saving Energy." They can be placed next to light switches in hallways.

The stickers are part of "Earth Hour" and were distributed to offices throughout Manila.

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by Angela Natividad    Mar-24-08    
Topic: Cause