Marc originally shared these Finnish AIDS council ads on Facebook, but I thought I’d track them down for a post. While the idea of comparing social connections online to sexual connections in the real world — and their associated risks of infection — is not a new one, this blunt use of the check-in feature as metaphor is pretty effective.

See the male version (which works for straight women, gay men and MSM alike) after the break.

Related campaign from the Finnish AIDS council: Explore the body map safely.

Can you think of another example of this? You got it—craigslist. In the States, craigslist is synonymous with connection. Hundreds of thousands of people utilize the ad-free website to find jobs, frisbee leagues, used furniture, and to barter their services. The founder of this incredible site is Craig Newmark, a self-professed nerd who has dedicated his life to customer service.

At the iStrategy conference on global digital marketing in San Francisco, Craig Newmark was not there to speak about his great invention. Rather, he wanted to talk about where he’s putting his energies now: craigconnects.

At first look, craigconnects seems to be a way for him to organize his personal efforts on giving back: military veterans, technology for good, and back-to-basics journalism. And right now, it is. But a few points that were brought up in his talk on how to build a community of trust provide a few hints as to the potential of his own model.

As a sponsor of the contest, Cisco will donate $3,500 in prizes and up to $3,500 worth of products to each prizewinner to help these winning organizations harness the power of human and technology networks to multiply their impact on the people and communities they serve.
The Case Foundation will award special prizes to be announced on February 15th.
Winners will also receive free registrations to next year’s Nonprofit Technology Conference provided by the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN). To make sure that winning videos get in front of the largest online video community in the world the winners will be featured on YouTube’s homepage on Thursday, April 5th.

After all, the Arab Spring and occupy movements needed symbols and rallying cries – a simple communication idea like ‘we are the 99%’ had the power to speak a simple truth to millions and unite a movement.

All of this has meant a difficult process for the nominations to the Osocio campaign of the year for 2011. We decided to introduce two new categories, to reward social movements and technological innovations, as well as advertising and marketing ideas.

Another big shift was the move from West to East. This year we saw beautifully conceived and delivered work coming from countries like Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Singapore.

So. These, friends, are our particular favourite campaigns from over 600 amazing blogposts on Osocio in 2011. Stay tuned for the winners.

Jury:
All Osocio bloggers are members of the jury. And we are proud to announce these 15 external jury members:

• David Berman, Do Good Design author/strategic thinker, UN Special Advisor web accessibility.
• Guillermo Caro, is an international consultant. He was Executive Creative Director of Ogilvy & Mather, founder of Advertisers Without Borders and Ogilvy Prosocial Latin American. He is expert in non-profit advertising, marketing for social causes and Corporate Social Responsibility.
• Åsk Dabitch, the force behind Adland. Art Director geek.
• Sophie Guérinet, Event & Collection Manager at ACT Responsible.
• Jean julien Guyot, Trust Manager at agency SID LEE and blogfriend for a long time at IPUB.
• Paul de Gregorio, Head of Mobile at UK fundraising agency Open Fundraising.  His blog.
• Constantin Nimigean, Owner at Oitzarisme.ro, an inspirational website about contemporary photography and founder of Love Issue online magazine.
• Claire Kerr, Director of Digital Philanthropy, Artez Interactive. Blogger at Nonprofity.com.
• Steve Hall, Advertising Guy and Publisher of Adrants.
• Gustavo Machado, Designer+Educator+Social Entrepreneur from São Paulo, Brazil. Editor at DesignEducation.ca - Sharing our Future
• Joe La Pompe, great lover of creative advertising and restless “copycat hunter” since 1999 on his blog joelapompe.net.
• Nancy E. Schwartz, Publisher/President at Getting Attention/Nancy Schwartz & Company.
• Reinier Spruit, Head of Fundraising at Greenpeace International and founder/blogger at 101fundraising, crowdblog on fundraising.
• Nedra Kline Weinreich, Founder of Weinreich Communications, expert in the field of Social Marketing.
• Martina Zavagno, Interactive marketer working for a premium sports brand. And famous advertising blogger at Adverblog.

Go directly to the category:
- Campaign of the Year
- Innovation of the Year
- Social Movement of the Year

The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, is an independent, invitation-only conference “committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.”

Not invited were members of Ukrainian feminist protest group FEMEN. But they showed up anyway, braving freezing temperatures to do their signature topless, screaming, and headline-grabbing protest.

They give this account (from an unknown news source):

Three topless Ukrainian protesters were detained Saturday while trying to break into an invitation-only gathering of international CEOs and political leaders to call attention to the needs of the world’s poor.

After a complicated journey to reach the heavily guarded Swiss resort town of Davos, the women arrived at the entrance to the congress center where the World Economic Forum takes place every year.

With temperatures around freezing in the snow-filled town, they took off their tops and climbed a fence before being detained.

Davos police spokesman Thomas Hobi said the three women were taken to the police station and their papers were checked. They were told that they weren’t allowed to demonstrate, and will be released later, he said.

Swiss law enforcement certainly treated them better than the Belarusian secret police.

Stop Davos! 1 from FEMEN Video on Vimeo.

More pictures after the break.

It’s an old trick but it still appears to work. The trick with banknotes on the street, with a message on the back.
Here it is an anti-littering campaign done in Beirut Lebanon by a group of graphic design students. They call themselves Metel Ma Shelta (Just as You Picked it Up). 

The text on the banknote: “Just as you picked this up… you can pick up litter from the streets”

Campaigning can be so easy. The Facebook Page of Metel Ma Shelta already have over 2,800 likes and is shared many times.

This is their statement:

As we were strolling around the beautiful streets of Hamra, we witness a man pulling his arm outside the window of his car to throw a tissue paper. What upset us the most was that this was happening across Lebanon and we weren’t able to do anything about it.
We, as graphic designers decided to use what we’re best at (our witty minds and shiny tools) to visually express our frustration regarding the littering issue in Lebanon.
Since people nowadays are immune to flyers, we thought of creating something irresistible that no one can overlook. Mmmm, so what can be irresistible to every individual on this planet...That’s when it hit us like a lightning bolt!
MONEY, MONEY, MONEY!

Canadian band Blurred Vision have teamed up with music legend Roger Waters to promote Amnesty International’s campaign against executions in Iran.

The group cover Waters’ Pink Floyd classic “Another Brick in The Wall (Part 2)” as the video shows a variety of activists demanding that Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hoseyni Khāmene’i stop sentencing political prisoners to death — including Canadian Saeed Malekpour, an Iranian-Canadian web designer condemned for “insulting Islam.”

The musicians (and AI) encourage supporters to sign the petition, share the video, and upload their own messages of “Hey Ayatollah Leave Those Kids Alone” to the campaign Facebook page. You can also buy the song at iTunes.

All I know is that when Roger Waters shouts, I listen. In abject terror.

See the video after the break.

I spotted this strange ad on the bus this morning. While I can understand the parallel of problem gambling with other kinds of “risky” behaviour, the condom package seemed like a very lazy bit of borrowed interest.

The safeorsorry.ca campaign site continues the condom theme.

This campaign could only be conceived in Ontario, where gambling and gaming are regulated (and often run) by government, and casinos aren’t associated with prostitution so much as retirees.

If you’re curious what the gambling equivalent of safe sex is, the campaign gives these six tips:

1.  Don’t think of gambling as a way to make money.
2.  Always gamble with money that you can afford to lose. 
3.  Set time and money limits. 
4.  Never chase your losses. 
5.  Don’t gamble when you’re depressed or upset. 
6.  Gambling and alcohol are not a good combination. 

I am very doubtful that any of this will help a gambling addict avoid trouble. There has to be a better way.

Approach is deliberately provocative but also non-judgmental. They are encouraging people to talk about a sensitive issue and consider how they feel about it, not telling them what they should think.

(More after the break)

Not a pretty ad, but legal language is usually drab. Nice use of a rainbow palette of highlighters to show the moment, captured in a newsletter of judgements by Brazil’s supreme court, when everything changed for gay couples in Brazil.

Full text after the break

It’s a clever concept. But it takes more than cleverness to get through to people.

This latest campaign from The Partnership at Drugfree.org (formerly the Partnership for a Drug-Free America) takes a classic ad gimmick of role reversal to make parents culpable for their children’s drug use. Never mind that the mom appears to be zoned out on OxyContin to begin with — but even non-baked parents have a hard time telling if their kids are into recreational drugs. It doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t try to be good influences who talk openly with their kids about the social and health hazards of the choices they make. But the most overprotective parents, in my own experience, were the ones whose kids were most out of control as soon as they were out of sight of home.

(More after the break)

Three beautiful videos from Amnesty International Belgium.
The theme: “freedom of expression”. It is adverting for the Amnesty Shop
See the print ads at the database of Act Responsible.

1 pays sur 3 censure internet et ses réseaux sociaux.
La liberté d’expression a besoin de votre flamme.
Achetez une bougie.

1 of 3 countries censor internet and social networks.
Freedom of expression needs your love.
Buy a candle.