Ogilvy ‘help’ the homeless in Paris
A year ago, a homeless man decided to settle down in front of Ogilvys office in Paris,week after week, nobody really noticed him, talked to him, or gave him anything. They decided to use their creativity and their network to help homeless people, with a simple goal: help them directly, in their daily needs, without spending any money. They were looking for an idea so simple that anybody could reproduce it in their own city so they created unique cardboard signs for each of their 18 ‘new clients’ to see if a little creativity could get them noticed, it did, they got a few extra pennies.
I personally don’t think this is the best use of Ogilvys resources or talents, I actually see it as a cheap self-promotion effort which makes them look arrogant and patronising. I also don’t think BBHLabs got it right with Homeless Hotspots at SXSWi, but it’s a start and definitely a problem that the creative industry could help to solve if we treated it with a little more sensitivity and smarts.
(Source: dashperiod)
