Taking Cause Marketing to the Streets
Can one soccer ball save hundreds, perhaps thousands, of cats and dogs from meeting an untimely death? One animal advocate and Miami Ad School graduate is hoping just that.
As reported in Ad Age, a single soccer ball and viral video have set out to bring awareness to a program mandated by the Ukrainian government, who as host to the European soccer championships in June, has ordered the roundup and killing of stray cats and dogs to clean up the streets. One ordinary-looking soccer ball was placed on a busy street in Hamburg, but when unknowing pedestrians couldn't resist kicking the ball, they were surprised by a chilling dog howl. Those who picked the ball up found a bold statement, “STOP KILLING DOGS FOR THE UKRAINE UEFA EURO 2012," a QR code to learn more and directions to text donations to animal charity ETN. A video of these individuals' candid reactions to the howling ball went viral, spreading awareness for the issue and driving donations worldwide.
On the other side of the globe, another team of advocates has taken to the streets on its own social crusade: combating the slow deterioration of proper grammar in the U.S. An organization named Americans for Grammar is setting an example by targeting graffiti with poor grammar, armed with corrective red spray paint and a stencil that reads, "If you've got something to say, say it right." According to Ads of the World, the organization drives traffic to a blog which displays examples of grammar offenders and also directs donations to an urban language and grammar school.
Concerned advocates are working outside the confines of traditional marketing channels to raise awareness in imaginative ways and take their megaphones, quite literally, to the streets. When the issues are as unusual as these, sometimes your approach must be, too.
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