 |
| Watch the last video here! |
Pepsi has done just that with their Refresh Everything campaign. Instead of spending millions to parade Britney Spears through a Pepsi bottling factory (which was staffed by some very talented dancers, I must say) for billions of Super Bowl viewers, Pepsi will donate this money to causes much more worthwhile.
I, thankfully, work at an organization that provided me the opportunity to participate in such a novel advertising campaign.
Somehow, I was chosen to be the whipping boy and go on a month long journey, to find something “more refreshing” than the St. Bernard Project’s big idea. I had water thrown on me, ice dumped down my shirt, 3 FULL SLUSHEES thrown in my face… and I couldn’t have enjoyed it anymore.
How could I not have? I was given a chance to combine two of my favorite things: making people laugh and helping people out. If getting a door slammed in my face made 10-15 more people vote for SBP and bring us closer to funding our mental health center’s expansion…then slam away.
And now, here I sit, the day after the polls closed and we are in 1st. We did it. I got a lot of the credit for this, but a lot of it was undeserved. If the videos are what put us in first, then Amanda Catalani deserves more credit. The music, the cuts, the edits…it was all her. If Zack and Liz knew how much time she put into these videos… they would’ve been cut a long time ago. (Sorry, Zack and Liz, but they worked. Can’t be too upset).
If getting the vote out among St. Bernard parish residents got us in first, then Drea Groner and Bob Strauss deserve more credit. Drea sat threw the mad dash lunch hours at St. Bernard hot spots, Rocky and Carlo’s and Tony’s. (Think about what your local Barnes and Nobel looks like when the new Twilight book comes out… except everyday… but no vampires.) She talked it up with complete strangers and got them to vote and pass it along to family and friends. Bob Strauss got all of Trist Middle School behind us. Once we visited Trist, we rocketed into first place and never looked back.
And finally, to our staff. Thank you for not maiming me, Amanda or Matt Haines due to our plethora of “Get out the Vote” emails. You guys and girls are truly an incredible bunch of co-workers and our past, present and future clients are better off thanks to your dedication to the cause.
I don’t think one thing put us over the top. It was just your traditional “grind it out” team effort. And thanks to the participation of so many supporters and voters across the nation and the world, we now have “250,000 grants falling on our head”… and it feels good.
Check out our video series here.
