Calling advertising fraternity to help Lebanon July 17, 2006
Posted by Farrukh Naeem at copywriterjournalist.com in : Advertising , trackbackThings are going from bad to worse in Lebanon. When will this senseless violence stop?
I personally, wholeheartedly, unconditionally condemn all violence and every killing of an innocent civilian, particularly the use of bombs and missiles in civilian populations. (No matter how smart bombs get, they can never make out the difference between a terrorist and an innocent civilian, can they?) Like Gandhi said, an eye for an eye makes everyone blind. Senseless aggression is not the answer for anything.
Tim Addington has written about the Lebanon crisis and its effect on the advertising industry on the Campaign ME blog. Seeing the post, I was inspired to do something about it, as a human being, as an advertising professional, as a writer, as a journalist. Not politics but humanitarian support.
Moryarti of Dubai Consumer Mirror wrote a Relief for Lebanon post on the UAE community blog exploring how we can help. Do have a look at it and the links in the comments.
I am thinking, most of the advertising agency top brass in the UAE is Lebanese - they must surely be organising some relief efforts, I’d love to know how I can join in. And this is the time for not just the Lebanese but for all of us from every country in the UAE to rise to the occasion and find ways to help.
Instead of news of agencies closing down their offices in Lebanon, I’d be inspired to see the advertising people getting together and organising at least a relief campaign if not a campaign to promote peace and condemn violence. So many of advertising agency people are very well placed and well connected to initiate and organise regional campaigns for relief. Let’s do it. No help is ever too small.
C’mon advertising fraternity - it’s time for us to take our creativity and use it for a good cause - there is so much we can do as communicators as well as ad professionals with high disposable incomes. Organise relief campaigns, fund raising events, peace campaigns and advocacy. What if we don’t have some client to fund it - let’s do it pro bono. I as a copywriter volunteer to write the relief and peace ads for free.
I remember seeing an ad where one man is making his way through a huge crowd of people running franticallly in the opposite direction. This man is walking against the flow of the running crowd. Alone.
There comes a time when everyone has escaped and only this one man is still going towards the place which everyone was running away from. The camera focuses on the back of this man’s t-shirt. It has a red cross on it. That’s how I would like us ad people to be.
Comments»
The growth potential in the Dubai region is incredible.
http://www.DubaiFYI.com
The potential to do good is immense too in Dubai, my friend.
farrukh
hi sir ..i need ur halp .. becuse i dont have house i have one child i dont have a job plz halp me im from iraq basrha city ..plz halp us ty sir my name sami fattouhi
wow!! I love this blog and wonder why I havent been here before…
Thanks for sharing
Hi Farrukh,
Really appreciate your sentiment. But what can we do? Token gestures mean little and make no impact. If the desired outcome is peace, perhaps we should start by understanding the motivation of those behind the violence. Is there anything we can do to change their mindset? That is, after all, what the best advertising does.
Reynold
Sami: Are you in the UAE? What kind of help do you need?
Ramroom: Thank you Ramroom for your visit - you’ve got a great blog yourself
Reynold: All great things start with an idea, and we in advertising pride ourselves in being creative thinkers. Imagine making one great advertising campaign that gets millions of relief funds, or hundreds of volunteers or even an advocacy ad that makes people support peace efforts. So much we can do, really when we put our minds to the task.
farrukh
Hi Farrukh,
This probably isn’t topical any more now that Lebanon is (relatively) peaceful again.
However, I think you are right that we can do something that makes a difference. I was thinking from an old media perspective where the cost of producing and publishing advertising is often a huge barrier. The Internet changes that from a barrier to an enabler. The questions therefore are:
a. Whom do we want to speak to?
b. What are they doing now?
c. How do we want that to change?
d. What will make that change happen?
e. What’s the best way to reach them?
Hope to keep the conversation going on this with you.
Cheers,
Reynold
Hi Reynold:
Thanks for your involvement. The answers:
a. People who would like to help the war affected people of Lebanon
b. They want to help but do not have a quick and easy way to do so - they might not be necessarily happy with sending money into a bank account
c. We help people see that helping is easy and quick by showing them various ways in which they can help
d. A communication campaign that shows how they can help
e. We could start with an email campaign that can be forwarded to their friends too
Would it be good Reynold if we took this further through email rather than this comments box?
farrukh
Hi Farrukh,
Off topic. Are you the one worked in Leo Burnett bangalore back in 1995-2000?
Good blog dood, keep an on me:)
Hi MAhi,
That must have been my double. Gotta keep some just in case any of the suits saves up enough money for a sniper.
I was in Wunderman (Y&R) in New Delhi - right next to Priya in Vasant Vihar.
farrukh