HTHCWGT? (How The Heck Can We Get Through?)
I’m hard pressed to find anyone who genuinely enjoys a trip to the DMV, being confronted by nosy parental units, or being prodded by a physician (unless we’re talking McDreamy). So, how can companies and causes confront teens with uncomfortable issues outside of these yawn-inducing mediums? Recently, I’ve been dazzled by a few campaigns willing to crank up the kiddies’ Jacuzzi and dive in, sans apologies.
Forget the lame ‘Donate Life’ pamphlet at the DMV. The Trillium Gift of Life Network has launched RecycleMe.org, where you’ll find an attractive, well-intentioned young chap in his birthday suit, urging you to open him up and check him out. Click on any of his glistening organs and he’ll tell you why someone will need them more than you someday.
ThatsNotCool.com is creating awareness about the need for respect and boundaries in the digital space by giving teens the tools to stop bad behavior. Now, instead of replying to every invasive, incessant text from a pushy partner, teens can send a ‘callout card’ that fires back: “You’re Much More Attractive When You’re Not Textually Harassing Me.”
MTV’s cryptic TV spots featuring celebrities hyping the mysterious “GYT” piqued my curiosity. WTF is GYT? Gay Young Thing? Green Your Technology? This crafty campaign is sure to GKT (Get Kids Talking) about topics DTD (Difficult To Discuss), even if they do it through code, which is (let’s face it) how most teens communicate these days anyway.
The triumph here is these companies’ success in reaching their young and sometimes apathetic audience through a message that is strong yet accessible. By creating an active dialogue with youth via the messaging channels they use most frequently, organizations and causes will be able to hit issues that are usually off the radar for most teens.
This entry was posted on Friday, May 1st, 2009 at 4:32 pm and is filed under Campaigns, Consumer Insight. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
