Rebranding the art of teaching

From the post at Hyperakt:

Teachers are currently represented by uninspiring, childish visual imagery. Images like apples, chalkboards, and the ABCs neither revere the profession of teaching nor do justice to the intellectual and creative development teachers help guide in students of all ages.

We began with a simple premise, that education is the key to human progress, therefore teaching is among the most important professions for humanity. Our new visual vocabulary should capture the excitement and magic of activating the potential that is innate in every student. It should celebrate the process of developing ideas, reflect the collaborative nature of teaching and pay homage to existing visual tools used in teaching.

Our solution is all about connecting the dots. Visual maps, like teachers, help learners brainstorm ideas, reveal relationships, explain processes, tell stories and much more. The visual language of these connected dots can be found in toys, in letter tracing, in classroom brainstorms, on the whiteboards of innovators, in maps, in molecular structures and beyond.

Connecting the dots allows us to create a boundless visual language that celebrates teaching and learning in a way we can all be proud of.

The concept is very simplistic and abstract, but I have to admit it grows on me the more different ways I see it used. I am married to a teacher, and I am constantly disappointed by her profession’s cliché and self-serving ad campaigns. This, instead, is something with potential to change the conversation. And all based on the essential nature of the verb “Teach”.

See more examples after the break.

It’s a dog f*ck dog world

Actually, in this case it’s a “dog fuck dog fuck dog fuck dog” world, but that’s getting technical. This pet populations control campaign from Brazil is is an amusing example of doggy porn used to promote a responsible message.

For those concerned about exploitation of the dogs, I would only say I hope the client ensured no animals were embarrassed in the making of these ads. (It’s obviously ‘shopped.)

See a puppy threesome after the break.

Moms clean air force

I am mother and mother’s love is unconditional. Like any other mother, I think about the future of this world and in what kind of world my son grows up. If there is an elementary power to make this world a better place, then it is feasible with the power of a mother. This beautiful campaign for clean air with celebrity faces is an Intiative of the mothers. These mothers share a very good and necessary idea: to create a better world for our own children. I believe that if the mothers would take over the power of this world, we would not have today’s problems.
All mothers (and Fathers!) should get together and fight for childrens right to have clean air. Air pollution is not just dirty. It is toxic.

Actress and mother Julianne Moore released a this video calling on parents to join the fight against toxic air pollution. In the video, which endorses a nonpartisan grassroots group called the Moms Clean Air Force, Moore appears along with the heroine of her popular children’s books, Freckleface Strawberry.

Moms are becoming a powerful force in American politics. They are telling Washington that they will not allow their children’s health to be compromised by dirty fossil fuel power plants, the single largest source of pollution in the U.S. The Moms Clean Air Force is a growing community of tens of thousands of moms— from all across the political spectrum and all across the country—uniting to make their voices heard to protect their children’s health. “Clean air should be above politics,” Moore said. “The discussion about regulations to protect our air has gotten so polarized that we have forgotten an important thing: We all breathe the same air. And all our children suffer because of pollution. We don’t have to choose between a healthy economy and a healthy environment. We can have both. We can have what’s best for all our children.”

President Richard Nixon signed the Clean Air Act into law in 1970 with overwhelming support from Democrats and Republicans; however, the law is now under dangerous political attack. The new mercury and air toxics standards signed in December, after 21 years of planning, are already under political attack, with some politicians in Congress and lobbyists for the utility and coal industries calling to annul it or defund the Environmental Protection Agency.

Responding to this threat, Moms Clean Air Force is bringing parents together in support of a simple idea: That every child has the right to breathe clean air.

Moore became interested in MCAF after Dominique Browning, the group’s Co-Founder and Senior Director and former Editor-in-Chief of House & Garden, contacted her last summer. “I wrote to Julianne, knowing she is a protective mom, asking her if she would help us spread the word about the connection between toxic—and invisible—air pollution and children’s health, and she responded immediately,” Browning said. “Julianne joins a Force of thousands of mothers with real concerns about mercury poisoning, asthma, behavioral issues, and host of other problems associated with polluted air. Together we are determined to clear the air and protect the health of our children and loved ones.”

Moms Clean Air Force is a coalition of mothers including Blythe Danner, Laila Ali, and Jessica Capshaw, and partner groups such as Healthy Child, Healthy World, Asthma Moms, Latism (Latinos in Social Media), Me and my 1000 Girlfriends, Alliance of Nurses for a Healthy Environment (ANHE), Care2, BlogHer, Clever Girls Collective, and Me and My 1000 Girlfriends. source: Julianne Moore: Tell Washington to support clean air for our kids.

More about the Mission of “Moms Clean Air Force” you can read after the video ..

Armut macht krank - Poverty leads to ill

These BBDO campaign for Caritas against poverty launched this year with the slogan “Poverty leads to ill.” “Where is a lack of income, education and perspectives, disease is a frequent companion.” With this message Caritas wants to draw attention to the vulnerabilities and insufficient in German health system.

“Health is what every human being needs - including the poor. But their chances are slim. The loads are too great: No job, no money, no home ... Body and psyche often strike when they connect to the “normal life” loses. The charity is committed to ensuring that health care in Germany is independent of income and education.” this is the statement by President Monsignor Peter Neher, Caritas Germany and these are the thoughts of all of us.
The freezing temperatures in Europe claims over 400 lives. Many of those who died in the cold were homeless. Caritas provides as every year in many countries around the world at the beginning of the cold winter season, assistance to the needy, such as in Armenia, Russia or Ukraine, Afghanistan and Japan…

Translation: We have defeated the plague. We have overcome the smallpox. We have developed medicine against tuberculosis… and against typhoid. Only against the greatest pathogen is a medicine not enough ... against the poverty.

(more after the break.)

Osocio Campaign of the Year 2011

A record number of blogposts. A shortlist of 80. A team of hand-picked jurors from around the world. And just three winners. 
The wait is over for Osocio’s campaign of the year 2011.

The winning campaign:

The Return of Ben Ali

An entry that comes, not from the West, not from a mainstream cause. But from the Arab Spring, the spontaneous grassroots movement that 2011 will always be remembered for.
We loved it because it shows that even in the midst of chaos and conflict, a great idea can still inspire action.

We also introduced a new category to highlight technology ideas that change lives. The winning Innovation:

A Litre of Light

A simple, cheap, spreadable innovation that will bring free light to the homes of people in Manila and change lives forever. With a lovely film to show it off.

And finally, this year we had to introduce a new category for social movements. Because change isn’t always driven by NGO’s, but can still rely on a powerful communications idea. The winning Social Movement:

Occupy

Our jurors picked ‘Occupy’ as a powerful and unifying rallying cry that brought the politicised, the dispossessed and the just plain angry together in cities all over the world.

Thank you to all our readers, all our bloggers, all our commenters and jurors – and most importantly to all those using their talent and creativity to make the world turn in a more positive direction.

See the three winners after the break.

Dump The Big Six

This funny video is from Ecotricity, a green energy company based in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England specialising in selling and generating wind power.
It is part of their new campaign entitled “Dump The Big Six”.
The Big Six stands for British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON, Npower, Scottish & Southern and Scottish Power.

Ecotricity founder Dale Vince OBE, the man credited with kick-starting the world’s green electricity market, believes now is the moment to topple the grey giants and bring the UK into the renewable energy future.

Ecotricity: Half of Britons feel the source of future energy supplies is one of the most important environmental issues facing the nation yet less than 1% currently use a green energy supplier (Ofgem, October 2011).
Over 60% of UK households could switch to Ecotricity and get greener energy for not one penny more than they are currently paying.

The collapsing cooling tower imagery was inspired by web artist Herman Bailey’s “Sad Chimney” gif. Herman is credited as part of the creative team behind the campaign.

The campaigns starts with the viral video and with a Facebook app “Dump The Big Six”. The aim is to reach a huge audience.

Both sides of weed

A masterpiece from McCann Digital, Tel Aviv: after the “drugs set your timeline” campaign that focused on hard drugs prevention - here’s a new one for the israeli anti drug authority, this time on Weed effects.

In 3 interactive videos, they showed young people talking about marijuana as a deadly drug, and telling it’s the best thing that ever happened to them.
Teen audience can switch freely between the two offered solutions, watch the stories of drug addicts and realize that none of them are actually true, and learn about the real effects of smoking weed.
Take a look here the great interactive page and find out the truth about the Weed http://www.grass-truth.co.il/indexEn.asp

more after the break.

Donation street party, the social way

During the Jewish Holiday of Hanukkah, Latet (Hebrew for “to give"), a humanitarian aid organization, wanted to create a unique fundraising event.
In collaboration with Shaker, an app that turns Facebook into a virtual bar, Latet created a one-of-a-kind fundraising event– a street party inside Facebook.
Israeli celebs, who received special avatars, held live performances inside the virtual street party. In addition, users could chat and take pictures with them. Users that donated by texting received a virtual Latet T-shirt that showed everybody they had donated. The party self-promoted itself and reached 2 million unique users. Most importantly- Latet signed on 129 new volunteers.

Shaker is a Facebook application which essentially aims to turn Facebook into a virtual bar via a social game. It has won the Techcrunch disrupt startup contest 2011

Three shocking reasons to monitor your children’s internet use

This really weird campaign for the Beneva Foundation (which appears to be based in Romania, even though the ads are Slovakian) assumes that you are aware of some of the most infamous internet shock sites of the past few years. If you are (and I have to admit that I am) then these children’s versions — implying that your kids have visited those sites themselves — are horribly hilarious. If you are not familiar, I will do my best to explain in the most professional manner possible.

Lemon Party (Wikipedia link) is the least shocking, at least in internet terms. It shows three naked, elderly men having a graphic threesome. The ice cream cone seems like a nod to the SFW Porn meme.

The other two are more infamous. See them after the break.

A person is the best thing to happen to a shelter pet

No pitiful, neglected and abused animals in this campaign from the American Shelter Pet Project. Just sweet cuteness with our favorite hairballs. Unconditional love and understanding, who doesn’t want that?

The Shelter Pet Project is a public service ad campaign focused on spreading the word that pets in shelters are wonderful and lovable, and encouraging potential adopters to consider the shelter as the first place to find a new best friend.
The Project is the result of a collaborative effort between two leading animal welfare groups, The Humane Society of the United States and Maddie’s Fund, and the leading producer of public service advertising (PSA) campaigns in the USA, The Ad Council.

In this post 4 videos and two print ads from the campaign which started last November.
More print ads, radio spots and web banners here.