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IBM | People For Smarter Cities | 2013
The Day an Ad Became Part of the City / IBM "People For Smarter Cities"
A billboard becomes a bench. A roof. A ramp. Why does something so simple move us this much?
Subject
social issues
67 articles
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DEUTSCHE AIDS-STIFTUNG | EVERY 18 SECONDS SOMEBODY DIES OF AIDS. | 2012
Every 18 Seconds, a Life / Deutsche AIDS-Stiftung "EVERY 18 SECONDS"
Eighteen seconds. That's how often someone, somewhere in the world, dies of AIDS. As a number, it's almost too short. And almost too heavy to bear.
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ALS FOUNDATION NETHERLANDS | I Have Already Died | 2012
This Is Not a Condom Ad / ALS FOUNDATION NETHERLANDS "I Have Already Died"
"Not for me. Because I'm already dead." On screen, people speak plainly, directly to the camera. The weight of this campaign comes from one fact: by the time it aired, every single one of them was already gone.
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VOLKSWAGEN | DON'T MAKE UP AND DRIVE | 2012
A makeup tutorial suddenly crashes / VOLKSWAGEN "DON'T MAKE UP AND DRIVE"
You're watching a tutorial on how to do your makeup, when suddenly you hear a car crash and the screen shakes. That's the one-minute video VOLKSWAGEN put out on YouTube in 2012.
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BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO BANK | THE MOST POPULAR SONG | 2012
Choosing to Rewrite History / Banco Popular "THE MOST POPULAR SONG"
Puerto Rico's biggest hit song was a tune called "I Don't Do Anything" — a song that nationally celebrated not working. This campaign got the very people singing it to rewrite it. That bold move brought Puerto Rico its first-ever Cannes Grand Prix.
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HELP REMEDIES | Help I Want to Save a Life | 2012
When You Cut Your Finger, You Could Save Someone's Life / Help Remedies "Help I Want to Save a Life"
Open up a bandage, and inside is a bone marrow donor registration kit. The blood from your cut finger, just as it is, might be enough to save a life.
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SCOPE | SEE THE PERSON | 2011
What music revealed was possibility / SCOPE "SEE THE PERSON"
In the darkness, rock music rings out. Then the lights come up on the members of a six-person band, Rudely Interrupted. The music tells you first, before anything else, that five of them are living with disability.
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THE LOTUS LIGHT CHARITY SOCIETY | UMBRELLA BAGS | 2010
This Is an Umbrella Bag / THE LOTUS LIGHT CHARITY SOCIETY "UMBRELLA BAGS"
In 2010, a print ad from Hong Kong reached the world. A charity message built around umbrella bags.
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THE TOPSY FOUNDATION | SELINAH | 2010
When Playing in Reverse Becomes the Truth / THE TOPSY FOUNDATION "SELINAH"
Just playing the footage in reverse, that's it. But when I heard they kept the camera rolling every single day for 90 days to make that work, I was speechless.
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HAAGEN DAZS | HD loves HB (Honey, Let's Lick the Problem) | 2009
If the Bees Disappear, So Does Ice Cream / HAAGEN DAZS "HD loves HB (Honey, Let's Lick the Problem)"
In 2009, honeybees were mysteriously vanishing across America. The reason Haagen-Dazs got involved was simple: without bees, it couldn't make four out of ten of its flavors.
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UNICEF | TAP PROJECT | 2007
They put a $1 price tag on free water / UNICEF "TAP PROJECT"
Esquire magazine challenged the creatives it named to its "Best and Brightest" list to build a brand using just one page of the magazine. What David Droga came up with wasn't an ad at all — it was a mechanism that changed the world.
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APPEALNOW.COM | KICKING | 2005
A parking warden kicks a man. / APPEALNOW.COM "KICKING"
Released in the UK in 2005, this shocking video shows a parking warden suddenly tackling a passerby, pinning him to the ground, and finally kicking him. It became a talked-about viral ad that was both darkly funny and full of anger at unfair parking tickets.
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NSPCC | Ventriloquist | 2005
The Everyday Scene Where Everyone Pretends Not to See / NSPCC "Ventriloquist"
"What's 9 times 8?" The one who answers is a ventriloquist sitting behind a little girl. No one notices him at all. I still get chills watching this 70-second film NSPCC made back in 2005.
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NSPCC | CARTOON | 2002
Real children don't bounce back / NSPCC "CARTOON"
A boy who looks like he stepped out of a Tom and Jerry cartoon gets hit by his father. Burned with a cigarette. Pushed down the stairs. A laugh track plays, and because he's a cartoon, he bounces right back. But in the final moment, the boy turns into a real child, and he doesn't move.
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NIKE | SKATEBOARDING | 1998
What if tennis players, or golfers, were the ones getting chased off? / NIKE "SKATEBOARDING"
Skate through the city and a security guard comes running. Try a trick in front of a shop and someone starts yelling. In 1998, that was just normal life for skateboarders. Nike's response was a single question: "What if other athletes got treated the same way?"
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TRANSPORT ACCIDENT COMMISSION | 10 KPH LESS | 1998
Just 10 km/h Can Be the Difference Between Life and Death / TRANSPORT ACCIDENT COMMISSION "10 KPH LESS"
A speed-reduction ad released in 1997 by Australia's TAC. It shows, without flinching, a car hitting a person at 70 km/h.
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NSPCC | EXCUSE | 1992
No More Accepting Excuses / NSPCC "EXCUSE"
In 1992, a public service ad ran in British cinemas. It opens with nearly a full minute of darkness, then photos of children and the "excuses" given by their abusers appear one after another. Quiet, dark, and impossible to look away from.
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NACAIDS | THE GRIM REAPER | 1988
Fear Saved No One / NACAIDS "THE GRIM REAPER"
In 1987, a bowling alley appeared on Australian television. The pins the Grim Reaper's ball knocked down were a mother holding a baby, and children at play. It was pulled off air after just three weeks — one of the most controversial ads in the history of public health.
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PARTNERSHIP FOR A DRUG FREE AMERICA | GIRL & DEALER | 1988
What She Lost That Night / Partnership for a Drug-Free America "GIRL & DEALER"
America, 1988. A 60-second spot of a girl pleading with a drug dealer on a dark street aired right in people's living rooms.