MANILA – January 22, 2014 – It’s almost a reflex to dig through our closets when donations are called for, because clothes are the easiest, most low-cost of the basic human needs to find and give.
But not all of the donated clothes are appropriate for the use of disaster survivors. As Leo Burnett put it, "In the aftermath of a typhoon, when the hot sun is up again, leather jackets and long gowns are of no practical use to the intended recipients of this donation."
The agency, along with the Philippine Red Cross and P&G brands Ariel and Downy, then created a campaign centered on the sale of fashion finds they discovered in piles of clothes donated to the Red Cross.
The clothes were then hauled and washed with Ariel Detergent and Downy fabric conditioner, and assembled in fashionable outfits by top stylists to promote the sale on social media, press posters, and TV show features.
Bright red posters that red "SALE SALE SAVE LIVES" were also put up in malls to promote the sale, which took place in a pop-up store in the middle of a busy mall.
"The cause was evident in design details: dressing rooms with stretchers as doors, price tags and receipts with life essential equivalents. The resurrected fashionable clothes were then displayed boutique-style in a one-of-a-kind fashion sale," Leo Burnett said.
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The event also had a real-time purchase converter, showing how many pieces of clothing were sold, and their equivalents in hot meals, medicine kits, water bottles, and other life essentials.
The two-day activation raised nearly P600,000 for Red Cross, amounting to 8,610 hot meals, 2,640 bottles of water, 255 medicine kits, 372 wound cleanser kits, 587 blanket and mat sets, 258 mosquito nets, 157 hygiene kits, and 375 food supply packs — all of which were given to the survivors of Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan), which hit the Philippines late last year.
Leo Burnett Manila chief creative officer Raoul Panes shared that the campaign took over a year to plan and execute with P&G and Red Cross, and was in the works long before Typhoon Yolanda passed through the country.
"Sorting the clothes efficiently with our volunteers was the first hurdle. People sacrificed their weekends to do this," Panes shared, adding that washing the clothes well, transporting them, finding a venue for the sale, ensuring that they had enough items to sell, and putting the communication materials together all posed significant challenges. And then Typhoon Yolanda hit.
"Typhoon Haiyan — which hit the country 8 days before the event — reminded us, despite all the challenges, that we were doing the right thing," he said.
The way Panes described it, response to the sale was great. He shared that even before the clothes were displayed, people were already knocking at the campaign’s container truck in the parking lot, and some people even came back several times as soon as the displays were replenished.
"It was guilt-free shopping as everyone was aware of the cause," he said.
As the campaign grows into a regular program, the agency and its partners are looking for more ways to improve it. "The bottomline is we want to sell even more clothes so we can help save more lives," Panes said.
CREATIVE CREDITS:
Client: Procter & Gamble Philippines, Ariel & Downy
Raffy Fajardo, Marketing Director
Mukta Maheshwari, Brand Manager
Creative Agency: Leo Burnett Manila
Chief Creative Officer: Raoul Panes
Creative Director: Dante Dizon
Art director: Ella Quiogue, A.M. Valdez, Steph Mangalindan, Dean Delos Santos
Writer: Aimee Espiritu, Lexie Dy
Digital Team: Dino Cabrera, Maui Reyes, Fritz Valientes, Robert Perez, Jason Lorenzo, James Angeles, Carlo Dionisio, Meng Morales, Jarmaine Sotto
Client Servicing: Rodenick Barbosa, Chichay Matias, Andy Rivera
Activation Team: Stel Angeles, Jenna Adevoso, Keena Piedad
Production Team: Lady Cajanding (TV), May Dalisay (Print) and Rusby Gonzales (Print), SAGA (Event)
Production house: Hub
Director/Photographer: Ben Chan
Exposure: Print, OOH, POS, DM, Digital, TV Feature (PR)
