Social Cause (106)
Swap box
Neighbourhood swapping pop-up ‘shops’ have made a recent appearance in Germany. Anybody can leave or take objects in good condition left by the previous owners in these spaces called ‘give boxes’. Users can also leave their acknowledgements in a diary that tracks the transactions.
Why it matters
In a time when most things can be ‘ebay-ed’ and monetized, people are seeking out ways to swap goods and do good on a very local level. By encouraging exchanges via the give box, the project turns out to be a sustainable project too. If brands would talk less about sustainability and do more about it – maybe they could start sponsoring such spaces and show they are getting involved in a credible way?
Wacky challenge for the greater good
The “défithon “ is an initiative within the annual Telethon event broadcasted on national television in France. It aims to collect donations for a muscular disease called myopathy. The challenge for 2011 invited both sufferers of the disease and celebrities to push their boundaries. To get to see one of the participants fulfil their challenge, web users have to pay anywhere between 50 and 20,000 euros as a donation contribution. For example, for 50 euros, you can watch a myopathy patient going across a city dressed up as a sumo wrestler.
Why it matters
The Défithon helps raise awareness about the disease in a respectful yet humorous way. By allowing viewers to donate online, it also generates social buzz. Is this an innovative way to encourage people to donate? Could this strategy be effective in the long run for others social causes?
Adopt a word
Why it matters
What if a brand did this? Is this a way to make people prouder of something they own, establishing an emotional link between the individual and a good, a product or even a word?
