Child rights organization Plan Canada has introduced the latest iteration of its ongoing “Because I Am a Girl” campaign.
The new campaign runs through May 26 and uses a combination of specialty TV, out-of-home, digital and full-page ads in publications including Chatelaine, Toronto Life and Canadian Living.
The creative, from One Advertising, is built around a series of compelling facts that illustrate the plight of girls and women around the world and underscore the positive impact that empowering them can have on a community.
A 30-second TV spot developed by Head Gear Animation combines live action with animation to illustrate a few key facts – 70% of the world’s poorest people are girls and women; 66 million girls worldwide are denied an education because of their gender, and a girl’s future income can increase by 15-25% for each year she stays in school.
“These powerful statistics really make the plight of the world’s girls overt, but [we also wanted] to take the opportunity to highlight the incredible benefits that investing in girls can bring,” said Serena Trentini, director of brand marketing and partnerships for Plan Canada in Toronto.
The Aber Group oversaw the the digital buy, but remaining media duties were handled by One.
Plan Canada has set a 2016 end date for the campaign, and Trentini said it is “making incredible headway” towards its stated goal of raising $100 million and enlisting 1 million Canadians in the cause.
The Cassies-winning “Because I Am a Girl” debuted with a primary focus on moms and teenage girls, but its scope has expanded over the past two years to include professional women. While the former group is vital in terms of lending its voice to the cause, the latter group possesses both the clout and disposable income required to bring about change, said Trentini.
This is the first campaign One Advertising has created for Plan since the child-focused organization awarded agency of record status to One following an ICA-led review last July. The assignment was previously with Wunderkind, which originally developed the “Because I Am a Girl” platform in 2009.
“We’re very excited about the creative approach that One recommended,” she said. “It’s very unique for the category and we believe it will break through and inspire Canadians to donate.”
Karen Howe, senior vice-president, creative director with One Advertising, said it was an easy choice to focus the creative on statistics. “The power of the facts is undeniable, and we saw our job here as bringing them to life,” she said. “It’s one of those things where you try creatively not to get in the way of the facts, because they hold the power.”
