The way to a successful campaign with a low budget

While I was zapping and spending my time on Facebook, I observed that many of my friends from Romania share on their wall an advertisement for a social campaign. I watched the commercial and I immediately understood why do they are so interested and why they appreciate so much that TV ad.

One of the reasons is because Maia Morgenstern, a famous actress in Romania and worldwide is the protagonist of the spot. So, the campaign benefits of celebrity endorsement because this actress is very appreciated and talented. Another reason is the goal of the campaign: aims to illustrate a new perspective on the discussion around the subject Rosia Montana.In Carpathians there are some mountains rich in mineral resources and they have been exploited since Roman times.The state-run gold mine was forced to close in late 2006 in advance of Romania's EU asscension but Gabriel Resources, a Canadian company, wants to replace it with a new mine. This has caused controversy over the destruction of Roman remains and on fears of a repeat of the cyanide pollution in one of the main cities in Romania. The campaign against the cyanide mining at Roșia Montană was one of the largest campaigns over a non-political cause in the last 20 years in Romania but many politicians want to approve a law that permits the exploitation.

Therefore, a social campaign started yesterday and is signed pro-bono by Papaya Advertising agency and the duration and frequency of broadcast TV spot is up to the TV stations. The ad launched last night managed to raise so far over 80,000 online views on YouTube. This is the video:

This is a simple video but very touchy in the same time. It says: "Hello! I am Maia Morgenstern and I want to make a donation to those who really need gold. Here you have all my gold...just please, let me live in peace!"

The most shocking aspects are not what she says but what she does while she says- she is bleeding because she injures herself while she is trying to take out her earrings.

The campaign objective is to bring a different angle of view on the subject Rosia Montana, pointing out the fact that the gold resulted from gold mining operation would not be the only aspect of the discussion but there are more negative aspects to take into account. Campaign message is "A person worths more than the gold that she/he wears. Also a country". I was very pleased to see this ad, I liked its simplicity, the fact that through emotion they emphasize the bad effects of the exploitation and the fact that they humanize the country in order to make the public to empathize with the cause, no wonder that has so many shares and viewers. As many social campaigns, this campaign has a very low budget and one of the goals is to gain as much word of mouth as possible.

Therefore, an appropriate approach, a strong message, a good cause behind and a properly chosen celebrity may be the key factors that can help you in creating interesting ads. Just find another way to stand out from the crowd.. 

Maria Bogus