Winter is a time of great need. It’s also the end of the tax year. As a result, every man and his dog’s home puts out the begging bowl. We needed to cut through the clutter. Vinnies objective was to raise $3 million nationally, $1 million from NSW. They also needed to raise awareness of the poverty issue in general.

Our audience had become de-sensitised to charity advertising, seeing the people featured in it as objects. We needed to keep it real. So, we sent out 100 disposable cameras to people in need and asked them to capture a snapshot of their life. The photos would then feature in all communication materials. The key message – This time it’s personal.

The campaign caught the imagination of everyone. One Vinnies shop owner said “I think it’s more shocking because of the real people featured. The ads appear to have really motivated people to donate.” It’s the most successful Winter campaign ever. The national target of $3 million has already been exceeded by 10%. NSW passed the magic million by 16% and keeps climbing. SA jumped 20% over last campaign. All other States have exceeded target. Online donations are double the previous year’s figures. And all this in a year that many charities fell well short of targets.