Sitting? You’re training. Dreaming about training? That counts too. Giving would-be participants a break on a rigorous pre-event regime is the message behind the new campaign for the Scotiabank AIDS Walk for Life, happening in 40 communities across Canada from Sept. 13 to 21 that calls the event “the easiest charity walk of all time.”

TBWA Toronto’s ECD Allen Oke, whose agency did the creative for the new campaign, says the insight behind promoting it as an easier option came from wanting to appeal to millennials listening to humorous spots and setting the event apart from the glut of other events that have appeared on the fundraising landscape over the past couple of years.

The walk, which raises money for programs and services that help Canadians living with HIV/AIDS, has its roots in being an easier charity event so that people with the illness can participate, says Oke. He adds they also want the spot to say, “You don’t have to do a lot to make a difference.”

All media space for the campaign is donated, says Oke, with the Canadian actor Scott Thompson-starring spot appearing online as well as in cinema and on TV.

“We felt that a lighthearted and humorous approach and a focus on online was the best way to reach the target audience – young people who may be lulled into thinking HIV/AIDS is a solved problem,” says Oke. “The online audience responds to quirky, silly, exaggerated humour, and so we used that to show that it’s easy have an impact on this very complex issue. But the key point has to be that participation is necessary.”

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