Archive for July, 2009

UNICEF’s Dirty Water Campaign uses alternative media to raise awareness and funds

by DOmedia on July 29, 2009 in Advertising, Agencies, Alternative advertising, Uncategorized with No comments

Thanks to our friends at Media Life Magazine for highlighting this clever use of alternative media by UNICEF’s Tap Project.  The campaign featured a vending machine labeled “Dirty Water” in New York City’s Union Square in an effort to educate about the lack of clean drinking water in so many Third World countries around the world.  The vending machine gave people the option of purchasing a multitude of Dirty Water flavors – from Malaria to Typhoid to Dengue Fever.  Yuck!

Dirty Water - Vending Machine

Luckily, no one bought (or drank) a bottle of Dirty Water, but many were compelled to donate to this meaningful cause by inserting bills and change directly into the machine.  The campaign also allowed people to donate with their phone by texting TAP to 864233 (UNICEF) – another great example of alternative media and SMS text messaging integration.

Props to the creative folks at Casanova Pendrill for coming up with this campaign and donating their time too.  Great work!


Memorability: The True Test of an Out-of-Home Ad?

by DOmedia on July 13, 2009 in Advertising, Agencies, Alternative advertising, Branding campaigns with No comments

Columbus’ own Orange Barrel Media thinks so . . . and by looking at its past and present out-of-home campaigns, we’d have to agree. Just take a peak at some of the examples below. It’s basically impossible to ignore an ad that literally jumps out at you like the Columbus Crew soccer ball on the side of downtown’s Brunson building. Or how about the Nationwide Insurance “Life Comes at You Fast” ad that instantly grabs your attention and makes you do a double-take (or in my case–for a split second–makes you utterly confused about/concerned for the cars in the parking lot now covered in bright yellow paint).

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Recently, Orange Barrel added another visually tantalizing advertisement to one of Easton Town Center’s exterior walls. The new wallscape features Ohio-based avitae energy water. And they actually mean energy water: purified water and natural caffeine. Period. And who better to go to when trying to promote a new product in a huge way? Orange Barrel, of course. The outcome: a gigantic, impossible to miss wallscape located in one of Ohio’s most visited tourist attractions (about 21 million people/year according to a recent press release). The ad shows a huge avitae bottle splashing pure, blue energy water down the wall and into a pipe. Just looking at it makes me thirsty.

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After seeing everything they’ve done before, I can’t wait to see what Orange Barrel comes up with next. And I definitely can’t wait to try this water and finally ditch the daily coffee . . . and soda . . . and Red Bull.