Archive - Nov 2011
November 11th
Tapas: a gesture of solidarity
The campaign “Tapa Solidària” aims to raise funds for the NGO “Casal dels Infants” which helps children, youth and families in Barcelona living in poverty and exclusion. Sponsored by Albert and Ferran Adria, a total of 58 restaurants (tapasolidaria.org) are supporting the campaign. In each restaurant, one tapa will be chosen as the Solidarity Tapa. For each one sold, 50 cents will be donated to the campaign.
Why it matters
With tapas being a shared, social time it is the prefect context to get people thinking about helping others. How can social causes really interrogate the context within which they put their message to ensure it has the biggest impact?
A game to save a life
Staying Alive is a 3D game developed by the electronics company Philips. The game consists on saving a teammate/colleague’s life who has just collapsed due to sudden cardiac arrest. When the players finish the game, they can publish their score on their Facebook profile and challenge their friends. Philips produces defibrillators which are present in the game.
Why it matters
Casual gaming now touches all age categories and genders thanks to social media and smartphones. This type of game entertains teaches people important life-saving skills while entertaining and rewarding them. By allowing players to publish their score to Facebook it becomes a social gaming activity. Is this yet another example of gaming and it’s structures becoming a useful teaching tool?
Stop being such a Nazi
Exit Deutschland is a German NGO that helps neo-Nazis leave the right-wing scene. To gain attention, bulks of free t-shirts with nationalist symbols were distributed at neo-Nazi concerts. After the first wash, the t-shirt revealed a hidden message: how to get out of the scene and the Facebook link to the NGO.
Why it matters
This is a case of focused guerilla marketing at its best. The idea even got acclaimed by some neo-Nazis for the smart move. If NGO’s get their message through in such creative ways – what can brands learn from them to get their message across to a specific target audience?
