Lost your best friend to a woman, cult or prison? Why not fill the void by volunteering as a mentor?
Dartmouth, N.S.-based Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Halifax hopes its recent recruitment campaign, which includes three 30-second TV spots, will make viewers laugh and thereby keep the org top of mind. The spots each feature a twentysomething guy losing his best friend in a humorous way. One is set at a wedding, with a crestfallen best man looming behind the happy couple. The tag is: ‘Need a new buddy?’
‘Usually [non-profit ads] are about doing good and helping others,’ says Carol Goddard, the org’s executive director. ‘We’re targeting it to men and their unique sense of humour…we need to cut through all the stuff on television.’
Goddard says the spots aim to highlight the fun aspect of Big Brothers.
‘[The campaign] reinforces our brand, which is well-recognized. I think it piques awareness,’ she says, adding that often potential volunteers say they’ve been thinking about the charity for a couple of years before they act. ‘Hopefully this will be the ad that pushes people over the top…a real call-to-action.’
The spots, by Halifax-based agency Colour, are in high rotation on CTV affiliates across the Maritimes, and it’s looking like the rest of the country may be seeing them soon, too. ‘We’ve heard from [other chapters] all across Canada,’ says Goddard. ‘There is every likelihood that the national organization will pick up the spots.’
client: Carol Goddard, executive director, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Halifax
agency: Colour
CD: Brian Hickling
copywriter: Brad Dykema
AD: Mike Jones
agency producer: Laurie Blank
prodco: Cenex
director: Brian Belefant
producer: Scott Westerlaken
DOP: Gordon Miller
editor: Jeff Fish, Filet
post audio: GGRP
