Results tagged “charity” from Uncivil Society
To complete today's charity ad trifecta, here's a thoughtful reflection from within the advertising industry on how the business views its charitable clients. The piece is rather eye-opening: according to the author, ad agencies see charity work as "downmarket" and design charity promos more to look good for awards than to be effective. Hence the post's provocative title, "Every time we make a self serving charity ad, a gay baby kitten dies of breast cancer"--
You could argue that, even if the main effect of these ads is to win awards rather than raise money or awareness, no one is really harmed. I’d argue against that. The same agencies that make creatively awarded ads know equally well how to make effective ads. Most of the time, though, they’re not the same thing. So every time an agency pours resources into making a beautiful, moving, and hopefully awarded charity ad, they’re choosing (consciously or not) not to make an effective one instead. They’re choosing not to make an ad that raises money for the charity and saves lives, cures diseases, finds homes for kittens or whatever it is the charity exists to achieve.
My last post featured a BBC satire of charitable fundraisers typified by a calculus of moral nihilism. Here's an upcoming event that's far more thoughtful: the Disabled and Sexy fashion show for the UK's Jennifer Trust for Spinal Muscular Dystrophy.
Unlike the ersatz porn stars of the Ladies Guild of Kneesley, this Notting Hill event isn't just about doing anything for cash. The fashion show reflects how the charity does more than treat a disease, an effort that itself can make people feel as if they've been reduced to a set of symptoms. Rather, the initiative celebrates the participants' full humanity, an aim that is as meaningful as providing medical care.
In this BBC Comedy video, The Ladies Guild of Kneesley skewers recent efforts by charities to sex up their fundraising. While the tactic can work for some organizations--particularly those with sexuality-related missions--far too often it's an uneasy fit, with lame jokes and blatant objectification rationalized by a good cause.
PUTTING THE FUN IN FUNDRAISING EXTRA: This vintage trend piece from the Washington Post describes (ostensibly) wacky sexy fundraising as a trait of social entrepreneurship. Who knew? And somewhat related, this recent article from Australia notes that donating sex toys & bongs may not be the best way to support your local charitable thrift store.
To complement your Jesus is a Yankees Fan t-shirt, here's a Yankees devotional copper icon featured in the fun new book version of Regretsy--Where DIY meets WTF.
Regretsy, as the title suggests, heaps a generous dollop of snark on the goofiest items from Etsy. But the site's about a lot more than having a laugh at others' expense--besides bringing to light some of the more offbeat expressions of human creativity, Regretsy has also raised thousands of dollars for charity--"profits from Regretsy merchandise are used to hire Etsy artists to create handmade products for various charities, or to directly benefit Etsy sellers in need."
Cell phones, China's commodities purchases or misleading new metrics? An interesting question raised by Paul Kedrosky using data from Wolfram Alpha. One commenter suggests Kiva, but no one really seems to buy that explanation.
Check out Alwyn Young's 2009 study, The African Growth Miracle for more data suggesting that we may need to move past the stock images of Western charitable colonialism.
Carrot Top holding a rabbit on the red carpet of a Las Vegas poker benefit--this quintessential icon of celebrity do-good culture comes from the camera of talented teen-age photographer Nick Leonard, who is using shots of scenes from his hometown to build a killer professional portfolio.
UPDATE: For more on poker & charity, check out Betting on Poker to Change the World.
A PSA campaign in the Philippines seeks to promote charity by describing it as a virus. Hey, if it worked for Laurie Anderson . . .
Kissing a piece of paper for charity seems to have replaced the traditional kissing booth, which would today be seen less as a fun fundraiser than a hub for spreading the flu.
If the above vintage ad's strategy of prescribing carb-filled crackers to lose weight seems goofily retro (not to mention sexist), check out this new research on carbs as the dietary key to personal happiness.
I saw this pull up on Union Square during my walk today--the Cosmopolitan/Maybelline Kisses for the Troops truck, which used a donation to the USO in a record-setting kiss initiative to get people to line up to try a new line of Maybelline lipsticks. A seamless integration of commercial branding and charity, the effort was at least as clever as a Basket of Kisses.
While it may seem odd now for someone to be protesting support for a hospital, historically hospitals in the U.S. served a similar intended function as proposed national health care plans: to make health care broadly accessible by reducing costs through aggregation. The countervailing norm was private healthcare, such as personal care in the home or at a doctor's office. For a useful representation of earlier attitudes privileging home over group care, check out week two of this season of Mad Men, in which Betty Draper sees putting her father in a health care facility as a sign of failure.
The tension over social vs. private health care intensified in the late-1940s and early 1950s with Truman's proposal for mandatory national health care. In this regard panel three of the original PSA is particularly interesting in its depiction of government funding as an extension of nongovernmental cooperation. For an equally interesting blast from the past, check out this Kiplinger Changing Times article on the debate over socialized healthcare . . . in 1949.
Also, here's an interesting historic connection between Superman and real-world charity: Jack Liebowitz, DC executive and Jerry Siegel bete noire, used a good chunk of his personal profits from Superman and other comic characters to fund the creation of the Long Island Jewish Hospital.
Click the pics below for larger versions. Thanks Eric!
I've said it before and will say it again: if you're into charity, sustainable design, microenterprise or eco-fashion, WWD is an essential part of a nutritious lifestyle. For various reasons do-gooding is interwoven in fashion's DNA, and the creative arts biz--well, that's the whole magilla, innit?
Here's a sample recent article:
Exhibitors at Ecollection, the green sector of WWDMAGIC that made its debut a year ago, will spotlight innovative and recycled textiles that spice up sustainable fashion with pattern, texture and flair. Among the newest fabrics are prints made with plant dyes on organic wovens and knits, stretch satin woven from bamboo, organic cotton crepe and a knit blend crafted with corn fiber.
“As more people get into green, you need to have something to differentiate yourself,” said Jim Martin, owner of Green 3, which will exhibit quirky women’s totes made of vintage men’s suits and colorful patchwork scarves sewn from recycled T-shirts.
He feels eco-conscious vendors might attract more attention at the show. “Now, people who had not been as interested in green product or made-in-the-U.S. suddenly find that appealing, because it might give them an opportunity to tell a story that will help them hold their prices,” said Martin.
Jonano, which develops organic and sustainable fabrics for streamlined sportswear and dresses, will introduce a stretch knit of corn, bamboo and spandex, plus an artistic printing technique on bamboo and spandex jersey.
“I discovered a watercolor dye technique in Istanbul where the dyes go on almost free-form, and they blend like a watercolor painting. Each piece will look different,” said Bonnie Siefers, owner and designer.
The corn blend in black or a flecked neutral will be featured in Jonano’s first pieces of lingerie — a camisole, boyshorts, pants and kimono for immediate delivery. Wholesale prices start at $12 for organic bamboo T-shirts printed with “Love” or “Dream,” and top out at $79 for a long zip jacket in a nubby slate silk lined with silk charmeuse. The textured, linenlike outer fabric is woven from fibers extracted from silk cocoons without destroying the worms, a more labor-intensive process than the customary practice of boiling the cocoons, she noted.
Ethos Paris will highlight its Botanical Impressions line of organic cotton knits and wovens colored with plant-based dyes, said Leslie Leroux, chief executive officer of the French firm’s North American division. First shipped this year and expanded for spring, Botanical Impressions mixes the fabrics in dresses and tops wholesaling from $20 to $29. “We came up with a lot of interesting prints and colors,” she added. “It was our best line for spring because it is so unusual and we have very good prices, especially for an organic cotton line.”
Organized by Spike Lee & the Borough of Brooklyn, this block party celebrates Jackson's role as an inspirational icon. Personal and civic identity resonate in this contemporary version of the saint's day festival:
Anybody and everybody is invited to attend Michael Jackson’s 51st birthday party on Saturday, August 29, from noon to 5 p.m., at Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn, New York. DJ Spinna will be spinning all things Jackson, from the Jackson 5 to the Jacksons to Michael Jackson. The Brooklyn borough president will be on hand to declare Aug. 29 “Michael Jackson Day.”
“At the end, we’ll all sing Happy Birthday to Michael,” Lee says. “We’re going to make sure he hears us, too. All over the world, people are going to be celebrating his birthday. But he’s going to hear Brooklyn; Brooklyn is going to be in the house. Deep.”
Via WWD:
Hermès is reissuing a special version of its “Perspective” silk-twill scarf to support the International Federation of Human Rights on the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention for the rights of women. Priced at 215 euros, or $305.40 at current exchange, the scarf will be sold exclusively on the federation’s Web site, fidh.org, early next month. The original copy of the scarf has been signed by actress and singer Jane Birkin, who is also an ambassador for the organization. It will be exhibited from Nov. 1 in the Paris bookshop of French auction house Artcurial and sold through silent auction on Nov. 6. All proceeds from this sale will be donated to the federation.
Kate Collins offers another interesting follow-up, closing with this note:
Fan groups worldwide are disgusted, disappointed and irate. And
non-profit minded souls who want to do tribute charity work still need
a place to connect online.
How about here?
Fine with me! I'm in the middle of tight writing deadlines so I'm not as active here as I'd like, but feel free to use the comments to connect! If there is any other way the site can be helpful, let me know & I'll see what I can do to make it work.
Commenter Kate Collins offers this important update on my earlier post questioning the legitimacy of the alleged Michael Jackson charity. The CBS article linked within basically follows up the info in my post (um, nice "exclusive," CBS--and hi!*) with the estate's assertion that there is indeed no connection between the Heal the World Foundation and the Michael Jackson estate.
It's an issue because the HTWF has reportedly asked the court for permission to use the Michael Jackson trademark to sell branded merchandise.
*Kids, if you're going to mine a blog post for its research & legal analysis, at least be smart enough not to paraphrase the title.
The Dicapo Opera is, in the words of one reviewer, "the closest thing New York has to a mini-Met." The photo above is from their latest season schedule, which features a fun juxtaposition between their "delectably sexy" production of Dangerous Liaisons and the faux-crayon infused Opera for Kids.
Fan campaigns to save shows & characters have a rich history, going back at least to the landmark letter-writing campaign that persuaded NBC not to cancel Star Trek back in the 1960s. (FYI: the book linked above is a must read collection of primary source material for anyone interested in the history of nonprofit organized fan associations.)
Now, fans of Torchwood are using a charitable fundraiser to persuade the BBC to bring back a character who was killed in the latest--and in my opinion, brilliant--season.
Word is the effort won't succeed in bringing back Ianto, but so far it has raised about $5,000 for BBC's Children in Need.
The price of using Superman in your film: 50% has to go to charity.
The percentage of the money from the Superman films that will go to the family of Superman's co-creator Jerry Siegel: yet to be determined.
Michael Jackson's Heal the World Foundation did a considerable amount of good in its heyday in the mid-1990s, but it suspended operations in 2002 after failing to file several years worth of required annual reports with the state of California. The charity's New York offshoot, Heal the Kids, also faced a similar crisis in 2003, after which time it seems to have disappeared.
Last year brought news that that Jackson had not really stopped supporting his charity. Instead, the Heal the World Foundation had been reorganized. According to HTWF's website,
People are now remembering his music legacy, but behind the scenes, unknown to all but a small handful of people, during these last 7 years he authorized that tens of thousands be spent on preserving his charity organization Heal the World Foundation (HTWF).
Jackson started HTWF in 1992 and was designed to leverage his name, adding to the many millions Michael Jackson had personally given to charity. With Michael Jackson not happy at turning 50 years old, he stepped up his efforts for a multifaceted comeback.
Following these final performances, it was believed that Mr. Jackson would live a long and full life, devoted to HTWF and serving his God and his fellow man, with his fans leading the way.
Instead, the Heal the World Foundation announced that it would host a memorial benefit at a property bordering Jackson's Neverland Ranch--an event that ended up being canceled when local authorities objected that the event lacked the requisite permits.
I don't want to get in the way of a good thing, and I certainly wish the organizers well with whatever good deeds they have planned for the future. However, the more I go over my files on this Foundation, the more I've begun to wonder whether the relaunched charity was connected to Jackson in any way besides the name.
That the memorial PR came from an event management company with no evident coordination with the Jackson estate raised a red flag for me, but that's not the only odd thing. There's also the array of Michael Jackson domain names associated with the Foundation's president, Melissa Johnson, and the charity itself. For example, while Michael has been known to inspire quasi-religious devotion among his fans, would he have authorized the use of the domain name prophetmichael.com?
Somewhat more troubling, the Foundation is named in the WHOIS listing for http://mjplay.com, but the link itself takes you to Johnson's personal home health care service. Even more curiously, the home health service lists HTWF as a partner in providing elder care assistance--with no mention of Jackson. I was willing to view the Jackson-related domain names as a bit of strategic cybersquatting, but commingling charitable enterprise with a manager's own commercial private business is not something a charity should do.
Then there's this intriguing Craiglist post from mid-June:
The nature of the problem isn't at all clear--another charity named "Heal the World" filed a "Heal the World" trademark application for charitable fundraising, so perhaps HtWF is looking for help to deal with that. Or could there be another problem here--namely, a challenge to the Foundation's repeated mention of Michael Jackson in connection with its site & fundraising activity? Either way, if Michael Jackson were really funding this charity, wouldn't he be connecting it to his legal team as well?
Which leads me to the next and last curious piece of evidence. Johnson claims in a recent interview that "it is NOT true, that HTWF stopped functioning as a charity at any point since its inception in 1992." But if that's the case, why do both the California Attorney General and the IRS treat Jackson's HTWF and Johnson's HTWF as two legally distinct organizations?
California AG:
IRS:
Putting together the above facts with various statements made by Foundation President Johnson, one reasonably wonders whether the Heal the World Foundation's supposed support from Jackson actually existed. Instead, the Foundation would appear to be an independent effort by fans who have scooped up the Foundation's dead trademarks and around (reportedly) 2,000 Jackson-themed domain names.
On its website, the Foundation continues to promote its "behind the scenes" connections to Jackson & indicates that after his scheduled "final performances" Jackson would have been "devoted to HTWF." Judging from the Foundation's discussion board, such statements have created the impression that Jackson really did support this charity. If the Foundation cannot provide documented proof of an actual connection to Jackson, donors--and regulators--have good reason to question whether this charity is really an improvement on its failed predecessor.
