My first feminist hockey ad #IWD2013

This is an ad we did for agency self-promotion as a sponsor of the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship (April 2-9, here in Ottawa). We do a lot of sports marketing, but this time around seemed like a perfect opportunity to look at it from a social issues marketing point of view.

From Change Marketing:

...we are proud to be a part of women’s hockey. As fans, as parents, and as Canadians we are inspired by the hard work and dedication of Canada’s National Women’s Team. We also hope our women on the ice will inspire new generations of strong and fearless Canadian girls. That’s why we created this print ad for the WWC event program. And since today is International Women’s Day (that’s what the hashtag above is for) we thought we’d share it early.

 Happy Women's Day.

Sleeveface: the greatest photo meme lives on in radio station ads

Long before today's trend of stupid photo memes, there was Sleeveface. Although earlier examples exist, the fad was named and made famous in 2007 by proud Welshman Carl Morris.

Following the success of his user-generated site, in 2008 Morris and his friend John Rostron published a book of Sleeveface pictures. Having fallen in love with the concept from the start, a bunch of us at Acart Communications had submitted our own, photographed by our colleague Rob Wilson. Most of them made it into the book.

So sliiiiide over here, and give me a moment...

I've always wanted to find a way to use Sleeveface in a campaign. So I was a little bummed out when I passed this billboard in Ottawa last week:

It's a little obvious to do it for a classic rock station, but I guess I'm glad that the meme lives on.

Close-ups below:

Jammin' in the cubicle

Sisters are doin' it for themselves?

Healthy eating starts on the farm

My God, it's hard to be a good parent these days. Especially when you've got a two-income family and very little time between wrapping up work, getting the kid(s) home, feeding them, and putting them to bed. Soon, the soup cans and KD boxes start piling up in your recycling, and you wonder whatever happened to home cooked meals.

Well, there is an alternative. And it starts with teaching your kids to appreciate real food.



This is a fun little video Acart's Cause Loop (our employee-run CSR committee) did for the Fill-A-Bus programme at the Canadian Agricultural Museum.

Fill-a-Bus sends kids to the Ag Museum's summer day camp, where kids learn more about how the food they eat is grown and raised. It's a first step in getting them to think "outside the box" (sorry) when it comes to mealtimes.

And the little dude in the blue shirt who knows all the answers? He's mine.

Yeah, we've been practising what we preach at Chez Adman.

To donate to Fill-A-Bus, go here.

Get to the heart of fundraising

It is said that guilt is a useless emotion. I'm not sure I agree with that in general, but when it comes to social marketing I think the days of guilting people into action are over.

That's why, when we were approached by the University of Ottawa Heart Institute to refresh their creative for their 20th annual telethon, we wanted to turn things around.

For the past couple of years, the Heart Institute has focussed on loss, portraying heart disease as a cold killer of family and friends. But that didn't rub me the right way. The telethon, after all, has consistently brought in millions of dollars from people in the Ottawa Region who believe in its work. They are not motivated by sadness, they are expressing hope. And they should feel good about what they have helped achieve.

With that in mind, we made this year's ads all about saying thanks:

As Don Draper said, "we're selling happiness". I don't think fundraising should be any different.

Please tune in to the telethon this Sunday, or donate directly at their web site.

Why do ad agency xmas cards usually suck?

The clichéd answer is because we're our own worst clients.

But I think this year's lighthearted effort has managed to break the Curse of the Agency Card. All it took is for us to step back and take a hard look at how ridiculous our industry can be — and then let off steam through the magic of satire. Focus groups, memes, sexism, fads, personal agendas... we all deal with them. But at the end of the day, sometimes a simple idea is really worth saving.



I wrote the script. Christopher directed the voices. Kerry and Marco did the animation. Vernon, John, Lynn, Jason, Meeta and many others kicked in. And Al let us do it.

Merry Christmas to those of you on an early vacation. I'll be updating all next week.

Change the Conversation

According to our client, the Traffic Injury Research Foundation, 81% of licensed drivers never drive after drinking. Those who do are clearly in the minority. So why are a third of road deaths alcohol related?

The problem is that we Canadians tend to be very tolerant of others, and shy about confrontation. Many of us are proud of doing the right thing for ourselves, but we pause before either letting other people know what we believe or speaking out against wrongs.

That's the challenge we faced when TIRF asked us to partner with them on the Change The Conversation campaign. Responsible drinkers are in the vast majority, and it is time that we do something about the hard core of irresponsible people.

Confrontational, and even aggressive in their look and message, these posters are here to get attention and invite people to join the conversation at the campaign site, changetheconversation.ca, a Facebook page, a Twitter feed (@changetheconvo) and an eventual YouTube Channel.

The campaign messaging and look are by Acart Communications, while and our longtime clients the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) led the partnership with Arrive Alive and The Student Life Education Company, for web implementation and PR. Brewers Association of Canada sponsored it.

What do you think? Would this campaign make you think twice before getting in a car with someone who  had been drinking irresponsibly, or letting someone drive home from your place after a few?

The rest of the campaign brings further challenges: Planning ahead not to drink and drive, not letting young drivers get distracted driving drunk friends around, and the career limitations of conviction.

Burundi Monday 4: Moving Pictures

Well, I'm back from a week in the wilds of Northern Ontario, and eager to re-enter the blogosphere.

This being the first day of the working week, and Acart Videographer Christopher Redmond still teaching film in Africa, it's time for another Burundi Monday.

Today, I'd like to share some still images from the field, captured by Artistic Director Bridget Redmond. (She and Christopher are married.) The pictures are lifted directly from the BFC blog, and give us a foretaste of some of the cool stories we're sure to hear on Christoper's return.

That's Mr. Redmond, eating local.

This is lunch.

This is inside.

This is outside.

And this is a wall.

Pretty wild stuff. You can see more pics, and follow Christopher and company as they begin shooting a new series of Burundian stories, at the BFC site.

Burundi Monday, part deux

As promised, I am bringing the second instalment of Burundi Monday, following Acart Videographer Christopher Redmond's international educational outreach through the Burundi Film Center. But since it's a holiday here at home in Canada, I'm going to do the laziest thing possible and just excerpt his latest blog entry about teaching hopeful young filmakers how to tell their own stories to the world through video media:

"Today was the first day of class and everything seems to have gotten off on the right foot. The room was full, my lesson plan was tight and everyone was engaged throughout. We have a new hand-painted BFC banner, T-shirts (courtesy the Sam Group in Ottawa), and a number of volunteers who were helping me with attendance and presentation notes. Things were, dare I say, professional. Or at least that’s what I’m told.

...

The students this year, however, seem to have a lot more experience than in 2007. Once again, we went around the room asking everyone to tell us about themselves and give us a sense of their skill-level. Almost two thirds identified as a “cameraman”, which I should have expected based on the type of people who have contacted me over the years asking to participate. But there are also a number of novices, actors and a few journalists again, which should make for a nice mix.

...

All the preparation I had done in collecting French books and lesson plans has also been a huge relief. I was honestly learning half of the technical film terms the day before I’d teach them the first time. Now, with the benefit of not only having taught everything once, but also having worked on at least half a dozen bilingual TV commercials in Montreal, I’m fairly confident in sharing the basics. So today, we started from the start – the different types of films (fiction, documentary, animation, experimental), the major steps of creating a film, film genres, and a number of other general overview points to get everyone on the same page. Even the volunteers were often scribbling down notes, enjoying both the refresher and probably the new clarity I brought to the material.

...

When class was done, a volunteer came up to me saying he overheard a few people calling their friends telling them the class is really good, they should try to get in. Too much interest is a problem from 2007 I won’t mind having again."

You can follow the rest of Christopher's BFC blogposts at CitizenShift's Media for Social Change, including a recent brush with the police. But other than that, his trip is going well — especially since his BFC partner and wife, Bridget — has joined him on their journey.

Next week on Burundi Monday: A love story.

What "iheartmom" is really all about

This week, I've introduced you to our iheartmom.ca viral campaign starring Joannie Rochette. I've talked about the evolution of women's heart health as a social marketing issue. I've shared the ups and downs of trying to take a campaign viral. And I talked a bit about the new technologies we're adopting to raise funds.

Today, I'd like to put the spotlight on our cause marketing client, The University of Ottawa Heart Institute. As Canada's top cardiovascular health centre, The Heart Institute is a prime destination for surgeons who teach and conduct research, cardiologists who undertake basic science, investigators who operate clinics, among over 1,000 other health professionals.

Their work is global in scale, including identifying the first major heart health risk factor since cholesterol — the 9p21 gene, unlocking the mechanism controlling a gene that regulates weight loss, and developing a biomaterial that grows new blood vessels.

First Donation / Premier don
Originally uploaded by University of Ottawa Heart Institute

This campaign is gaining great awareness worldwide, but after an initial big cheque, donations are slow coming in. Please join our Facebook cause page or click the "iheartmom" button at the bottom of this post to support research, education, and treatment of women's hearts.

And please send your mom (or grandma, sister, daughter, wife, cousin, friend, etc.) this series of potentially life-saving videos produced by The Heart Institute. Each one has an important health tip for women about protecting and maintaining heart health, and especially for recognizing women's unique cardiac danger signals:











(More to come next week!)

Ready to support this cause now? For Mom? join our Facebook page or hit the button.

I heart you, Mom.

The heart of the issue

This week, in support of our iheartmom.ca campaign for women's heart health, I'm going to look at the development of female-specific heart disease awareness as a social marketing initiative.

Heart disease is the #1 killer of women, but has far less mindshare than breast and cervical cancer in the public discussion of women's health.

Why is this? Part of the problem, according to the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, is that women's heart attack symptoms are different (and often less dramatic) than men's. They can be mistaken for an anxiety attack, flu, or general lightheadedness.

You can see the low awareness of women's heart health in this American PSA from two years ago:



And here is a good explanation of women-specific symptoms and issues:



The situation is changing, though, through the World Heart Federation's "Go Red for Women" campaign.



The campaign also gets corporate and celebrity support.



The international outreach is funded by the American Heart Association's "Go Red" movement, around Valentine's Day and Heart Month.



Here in Canada, the Red Dress campaign recently took the form of The Heart Truth Fashion Show, by the Heart & Stroke Foundation.


(Photo from Contact Music)

Hey, that model looks familiar.



Oh, yeah. It's Joannie Rochette.

Please support, and spread the word about, women's heart health. Visit iheartmom.ca

iheartmom.ca

Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette won a bronze medal at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, but her time on the podium was shadowed by tragedy. Just two days before she competed, her mother Therese died of a heart attack.

Joannie not only went on, but achieved a career best. Now, she has committed herself to raising awareness and funds to fight heart disease in women:



We at Acart are also committed to this cause. Just two weeks ago, the University of Ottawa Heart Institute came to us with their idea for creating a Mother's Day campaign around Joannie's involvement in their cause. And so, in a flurry of strategy, creative development, and on-the-fly production, we managed to put together the "iheartmom" campaign — filming the PSA on-site at the Heart Institute while Joannie was in Ottawa for a brief visit.



The online PSA leads to the campaign site, iheartmom.ca, where people are encouraged to donate directly or raise funds via Facebook (there's also a contest element where you can win a Caribbean cruise!)

Some facts on heart disease in women

• Heart disease is the #1 killer of women aged 55 or older
• Women of all ages represent 50% of heart disease deaths in Canada
• In 2005, more than 25,000 Canadian women died from heart disease
• More than one-third of women aged 45 and over have high blood pressure
• Heart disease risk in women increases with age and the onset of menopause
• Heart attack is not uncommon in women in their 30s
• Women’s heart attack symptoms can include unusual fatigue, trouble sleeping, indigestion and anxiety up to one month before a heart attack

The French campaign, "mamandemoncoeur", is running in parallel.



There's also a video of the press conference here.

Please help us help Joannie help moms everywhere have healthier hearts. Share this blog.

Social Branding

As integrated Social Issues Marketing specialists, we do more than PSAs at Acart. A big part of our business includes the branding of campaigns and programs that change attitudes, provoke action and improve lives.

One of our recently-launched social brands is Hazardcheck, a Health Canada program to help Canadians identify and reduce environmental health hazards in their homes.



Our stated objective was to create a brand that could be the next "Participaction" — that is, an engaging and potentially grassroots campaign that could be used as a basis for ongoing communication about home hazards.

As you can imagine, we went through a long process of generating naming options. We put together a large think-tank of creative and strategic people, and I moderated one of the most intense brainstorming sessions we've ever had. And, of course, it had to be developed concurrently in English and French.



Next, we worked on identifiers for the program that would get a strong message across without being overly shocking.

I can't tell you what else was on our shortlist, but "Hazardcheck" was the winner.



As a parent, I really appreciated the chance to work on something so basic, and yet so essential, to helping people keep their families in good health. Doing research for the branding project, I also learned a few new things to look out for.

Social branding is all about making important things simple and relevant. I think we've done that with the development of a plain-language name that is also a call-to-action, as well as an internet-inspired icon that communicates both "home" and "caution".

Our next job was to develop a Guide and other materials to promote the new brand. And a video is now in the works. (Maybe someday they'll let me write a Participaction-esque jingle!)



Get the information you need to keep your family healthy and safe at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/hazards-risques/index-eng.php

Acartland Who's Who

*cue lilting flute and bird sounds*

Old-school Canadian Announcer:

“The Acart Team is a proud part of the Canadian social issues marketing landscape…




















“This winter, they can be observed coming out of their shells and showing off their diverse personalities and skills on the Internet…























“Watch how they pose unafraid of our camera, Change Agents, Provocateurs, and Continuous Improvers all working together to do work that matters…


















“To learn more about the people of Acart, go to the updated "Who We Are" section of the Acart Web site… in Ottawa.”

Mo Bro No Mo

It's been a good month. Thanks to generous donations from friends and family, my moustache and I were able to raise $437.24 for Prostate Cancer Canada as part of Movember.

Along with me, Mike, James and Christopher sported dashing 'staches for the month.

Moustaches have a long and proud history at Acart Communications. For most of the company's history, Al Albania's Italian classic was as much a part of our brand as the Pegasus. (He shaved it last year, just for a change.)



Today, facial hair still abounds across the generations, championed by our bearded VP Client Serices, John Westbrook, and our moustached Senior Creative Director, John Staresinic.

But it's just not me. I had fun, to be sure, rocking the 'stache around town and seeing how people reacted differently to me. Teenagers were more likely to call me "sir". Store clerks treated me with a little more deference. My neighbours in Vanier treated me like one of their own. I even got some bona fide compliments from a few men and women alike.

But enough's enough. I promised my wife the whiskers would go, so off they went early this morning.


























There are more pics at my MoSpace page: http://ca.movember.com/mospace/348858

Thanks to all my supporters from Canada, as well as the United States, Spain and Australia: Marylil Megginson (you can always count on Mom!), Mary Jo Megginson, Lyle Fairfield, Jill Relyea, Rachel Playfair, Paul Notman, Bonnie Robinson, Raf Khan, Paul Megginson, Doug Robinson, Jason Hamilton, Kerry Cavlovic, Chantal Vallerand, David Megginson, Luther Caverly, Richard Lefroy, Ann Lefroy, Art Brion, Mary Beth Wolicky, Daryn Wantuck, Tim Wantuck, Meeta Chawla and Jesse Perrin.

And a big Mo Bro shout out to the competition at McMillan, where their 13-man "Stachinistas" team cranked out $2,660 in donations.

When we gang up to kick cancer's ass, everyone wins.

"What does a Creative Director do?"

A few months ago, I was getting ready for a meeting while an A/V guy was setting up our new system. We got to chatting, and immediately recognized each other as fellow smartasses. He was asking me about my job, and it came down to "so you just sit around and tell everyone else what to do, eh?"

Turned out he had to keep working through our meeting, which was a large creative brainstorm on a new brand for a government program. I ran the meeting, solicited ideas, gave direction, pushed people for more thought, and bent, spindled and mutilated the results until we had three strong conceptual approaches.

The meeting ended and I asked the guy, "now do you get what I do?" He did.

I know there are a lot of advertising students reading this blog now, so this post is for them. I get a lot of people calling me and telling me they're interested in Creative Direction. I often get the impression that they think it's just like this:



Besides the fact that there's a lot less smoking, infidelity and on-the-job drinking in the real world than on TV (well, less smoking and infidelity anyway...) Creative Direction in a 45-person Ottawa agency bears little resemblance to the glamour of the golden age.

So, for all those keeners who have asked me what being a CD is like, here are my "to do" lists from this week:


Monday

- Studio Managers' meeting: planning for the week's expected workload. By noon, everything will have been changed, delayed or have had its deadlines greatly accelerated.
- TV concept presentation to federal clients.
- Brief on client Xmas e-card.
- Blog about our foster parenting campaign

Tuesday

- Internal meeting on new transit campaign.
- Prepare pitch materials on another campaign.
- Review updated banner ads.
- Meet again on Xmas card.
- Write partnership prospecting letter for client.
- Secure freelance francophone Creative partner for another project.
- Review brochure copy.
- Review super treatment for TV ad.
- Review more banner revisions.
- Review voices for TV voiceover re-record.
- Blog about Facebook ads.

Wednesday

- Get interviewed by Ryerson Student Radio on Social Marketing
- Brief on new social media opportunity
- Re-present TV concepts to federal clients' boss. Major changes required.
- Direct voiceover re-record for another TV ad, over-the-phone, to Montreal studio

.
Thursday

- Provide last-minute creative direction for Xmas card
- Check in with French creative partner
- Drive to Kingston for campaign wrap-up-lunch with St. Lawrence College (note: if you're ever in Kingston, I highly recommend Chez Piggy.)
- Drive back to Ottawa.
- Deal with several major crises that developed while I was away.
- Review and approve new voiceover for one TV offline, and new music for that one and another.
- Overnight: review and rewrite presentation for Friday pitch.

Friday

- Review, direct French creative.
- Direct English adaptation of same.
- Develop social media plan for new prospect.
- Finalize pitch deck.
- Blog about this. (How meta!)
- Rehearse pitch.
- Do pitch.
- Present new French creative (and English adaptation) to client.
- Present Xmas card to client.
- Go home for pizza & wine with the fam.

I've barely touched on evening and weekend work, or the fact that last week included four 12-hour TV shoot and post-production days in Montreal.

So, my keen young CD wannabes, I present to you the awesome reality of the job:



By the way, the moustache will be gone by next Tuesday. So if you want to help me kick cancer's ass, please donate to my Movember page at http://ca.movember.com/mospace/348858

Adding a little Mo to the cause

I'm off to a late start, but inspired by Facebook friends like Jake and Dave O., I've joined the whiskers brigade for Movember.

According to their Web site, "Movember is an annual, month-long celebration of the moustache, highlighting men’s health issues - specifically prostate cancer."

Participants are invited to grow a moustache all month to raise awareness and donations towards prostate cancer research. I'm doing it. How could I not?

Acart Communications has a long association with the moustache. Al Albania, our President, was long famous for his Italian classic until he recently shaved it off for a change. John Staresinic, our Senior Creative Director, still rocks his. These are the two men I report to, so a little flattery through imitation can't hurt, right?

That said, I've never been a facial hair guy. My sideburns occasionally get a little '70s copshowesque, but I declined the whole goatee trend, and I've never had more than a week's beard. But I'm up for this. If I can wear an enormous pink bra to client meetings for women's health, the least I can do is grow a hair for my own gender.

So please donate! The movement has an excellent online donation tool. My page is http://ca.movember.com/mospace/348858.

Showing our support

As you probably know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.


As a Social Issues Marketing agency, we wanted to show our support in a creative way. So, after some brainstorming, Cause Loop (Acart's employee-run corporate social responsibility committee) decided that we'd have a "wear a pink bra to work day" to raise awareness among our colleagues, clients, and social networks.




So here I am, typing this blog in my office in the tender embrace of a 42D pink bra.

In the spirit of viral campaigns like that by MTV's Aliya Jasmine Sovani, we wanted this to be a celebration of compassion and awareness for and of breast health, rather than a sad occasion.



We thought our modestly clothed brassiere approach would be a little less controversial, but in promoting the event internally we got some cautionary feedback from a few colleagues who felt our silly focus on ladies' underthings could offend some cancer survivors — or family and friends living with the loss of a loved one from the disease. Those of us who chose to participate mean no offence to anyone; but if any is taken, please understand that our hearts are in the right place.




Another question is why we are pushing for "awareness" of an issue that is high on the radar, rather than soliciting funds. We are actually taking donations in the office, and encouraging everyone who sees this to donate to the cancer charity of their choice. However, as social marketers we wanted to give something special from Acart's key resources: our creativity, commitment, and compassion.

The facts:

This year, an estimated 22,700 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 5,400 will die of it. (An estimated 180 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 50 will die of it.)

One in 9 women is expected to develop breast cancer during her lifetime and one in 28 will die of it.

Most women who develop breast cancer have no risk factors other than simply being a woman and getting older.

So enjoy these pictures. There are more on Facebook. We'll also be releasing a video of our exploits next week. Laugh at us, or laugh with us. But we're happy you took the time to think about an important issue that isn't going away.

And most importantly... mothers, sisters, daughters, aunts, nieces, wives, lovers, friends: Take care of your breasts. Check in on their health. And stay well.

Donations can be made at the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, the Breast Cancer Society of Canada, Rethink Breast Cancer, or anywhere else you find worthy.