Red Cross Helps Downtrodden Stand On Their Own

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Fubiz drew our gaze to this short film for the French Red Cross. Panning over different landscapes, it depicts Red Cross members lifting sufferers of various torments to their feet.

As the backgrounds change, so too do the people, which left us with that warm "connected" feeling: we're all both victim and healer sometimes, and in that regard, nothing divides us from anyone else on the planet.

The tagline was equally stirring: "L'homme est fait pour rester debout" -- or roughly, "Man was made to stand upright."

Work by TBWA\MAP; music by sayCet.

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by Angela Natividad    May-20-09    
Topic: Cause, Good, Video



World's Longest Burp An Oxfam Commercial

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This is absolutely the most hilarious and disgusting (at the same time) thing we've seen in forever. And it's an ad! For a cause group no less. So remember the guy who used to do huge burps in high school? Of course you do. Every school has one. This guy is that guy.

And as the teacher always used to say to that Olympic High School Burper, so says this ad, "Do something better with your name."

And who said juvenile burping couldn't be put to good use?

by Steve Hall    May-19-09    
Topic: Cause, Good, Strange, Video



Ten Grenades, An Exploding Car and 5,426 Car Parts Say Slow Down

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This is drive safely commercial for Auckland's Rodney District is an amazing piece of work. Truly amazing. Not as technically amazing as Honda Cog or as emotionally charged as the classic The Faster the Speed The Bigger the Mess (which you can view here) but still, amazing.

Saatchi New Zealand, working with production company Flying Fish and a demolitions engineer, blew up a car with ten grenades and then reassembled the vehicle, piece by piece, creating a work of art. The finished piece is stunning. And the music. Well, that works too.

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by Steve Hall    May-19-09    
Topic: Best, Cause, Commercials, Creative Commentary



Waging War Hurts the Wagers, Says Peace Coalition

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The Global Coalition for Peace wraps its convictions around telephone poles and street lamps with "What Goes Around Comes Around."

Each piece features soldiers whose weapons stretch so far around the medium that the barrels ultimately aim back at the bearers.

"Stop the Iraq War," the prints proclaim. NICE.

by Angela Natividad    May-18-09    
Topic: Cause, Good, Guerilla, Outdoor, Poster



Teen Gives Birth on Playground As Students Watch

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Tactic 375 from the book, "How to Guarantee Your Ad Will Get Banned...And Get Seen by Millions" - make an amateur video of a teenage girl giving birth on a Leicester (England) high school field as students crowd around to watch like it's some kind of hair pulling bitch fight.

The clip comes from the National Health Service. As with many "virals," it's unbranded which, as is always the case, makes us wonder, "What's the point?" If you're just going to shock without including any viewpoint, why do it in the first place? Oh right. We can't actually tell people stuff. Then it would be advertising and people hate advertising. So we have to be all sneaky and shit. Hence faux viral clips such as this.

Actually, we should just shut up. Like the reveal of an old school teaser billboard, a branded version of this clip will be seeded later this week.

Created by The Rocket Science Group, the video was seeded by The 7th Chamber Friday and quickly got the boot from YouTube. Predictable, the press are all over it. The Sun. The Guardian. The Leicester Mercury. BrandRepublic.

by Steve Hall    May-18-09    
Topic: Cause, Racy, Video, Viral



Lady Liberty Gives Birth to...Really Bad Healthcare?

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Perhaps we're misinterpreting this ad but it sure looks like Lady Liberty is giving birth to or, worse, defecating a...what..."tired, poor" immigrant? What, exactly, is this ad trying to say? That America keeps pumping out the same shit over and over again? That America isn't into birth control? That it's healthcare system is so bad even Lady Liberty can't afford to have a baby in a hospital?

Please. Do tell. We're going to have nightmares about this for a long time unless someone supplies a more cherry interpretation for us to focus on.

by Steve Hall    May-15-09    
Topic: Cause, Strange, Worst



Oh My God! You Are Huge!

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Yea, You wish. We're talking about hands here, people. Helping hands. Volunteering hands. Enter the Charity Parody. Enter the V Inspired Awards, an organization which creates and celebrates "new and innovative volunteering opportunities for 16-25 year olds in England.

To promote the organization its awards program, The 7th Chamber is seeding a video that spoofs all those "We Are the World" - style music videos that are, at the same time, nauseating as well as emotionally uplifting.

And the Oh My God, You Are Huge thing? Check out the helping hands in the video.

by Steve Hall    May-15-09    
Topic: Cause, Good, Video



Cadbury Enlists Canadians to Build Bicycles for Africa

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"The Bicycle Factory" is an uplifting piece about the many uses of bicycles in Africa. Under the weight of a single enterprising pedaler, one bike can deliver food and water, or play the roles of ambulance and school bus.

Put together by The Hive/Toronto for Cadbury Canada, which is raising funds to send 5000 bicycles to Africa. Whenever users enter a Cadbury UPC at thebicyclefactory.ca, they're adding a bicycle part to somebody's spiffy new ride. 100 UPCs build a complete bicycle.

Nice way to add a hands-on dynamic to a good cause. Here's hoping Cadbury gets the 500,000 UPC entries it needs to meet its goal, because boy, that's a helluva lot of Fruit & Nut bars.

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by Angela Natividad    May-14-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Cause, Good, Online, Social, Video



Stop Soot, Non-Biodegradable Barbie, Comment Troll Etiquette

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- Stop soot (by Underground Advertising of San Francisco).

- Big reveal on YouTube HD Camera Trick (kinda neat if you're an optical illusions kinda chap, plus lots of YouTube users got called out). The original video was an effort for Samsung.

- Create your own ville courtesy of Johnsonville, the creators of their own ... sausage.

- When to delete a nasty blog comment.

- Pretty paper dioramas.

- Who'd've guessed: "you guys shoulndt even put something about the barbies... they are NOT earth friendly.."

by Angela Natividad    May-12-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Cause, Online, Opinion, Trends and Culture, Video



POLL TIME! The Sexploitation Round.

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This poll was sparked by an Amnesty International effort where a woman is smushed into transparent luggage to illustrate the cause of sex trafficking.

Compare with PETA's 2008 Covent Garden stunt, where a naked mom is put on display in a plea for pigs.

Are sex trafficking cause groups walking the PETA line?
Yeah.
No.
What's wrong with PETA, bitches?
A little exploitation's cool if it gets the message across.
  
pollcode.com free polls

Granted, the causes are different -- sex trafficking versus animal rights -- but when are these types of tactics okay? Whether you do/don't have a problem with them, we wanna hear you. =P

by Angela Natividad    May-11-09    
Topic: Campaigns, Cause, Creative Commentary, Opinion