The plight of the homeless is the subject of a new advertising campaign created by Publicis Canada for Maison du Père, a montreal shelter for homeless men, that aims to help them transition from the streets back into society.
The campaign uses images of Quebec personalities – including Sid Lee president Jean-François Bouchard (see right) and Guy A. Lepage, well-known host of Tout le monde en parle – made to look like homeless men. The campaign’s objective is to bring home the point that no matter who you are, and regardless of how successful you are, you might end up homeless one day.
The campaign theme is, “If you don’t want to help the homeless, why not help us do it?” It includes a 30-second television spot, posters, newspaper advertising, and direct marketing.
“When we see a homeless man or woman on the street, it’s our natural tendency to judge them,” said Nicolas Massey, vice-president and creative director of Publicis MontrĂ©al. “But homelessness is not that far from any of us. Solitude, together with family problems, losing your job, alcoholism, and mental illness, can all contribute to someone ending up homeless. The campaign was designed to sensitize people to that reality and to encourage them to support Maison du Père”.
In a statement, Luc MĂ©rineau, creator of the campaign, explained, “Since no one opens their home to a homeless person, and no one wants to take care of them, we tried to convince the public to donate to an organization that could.”
The campaign was launched last week, but got a big boost on Sunday with Lepage’s popular QuĂ©bec TV show Tout le monde en parle, during which 1,317,000 viewers watched Quebec celebrities discuss the subject of homelessness.
Massey said, “We wanted to spread the message by word-of-mouth and create buzz around the issue. The main goal is for men on the street to go to Maison du Père for assistance and then gain their independence, living in their own apartment, finding employment, and beginning a new life.”
