Top 10 Goodvertising campaigns by Thomas Kolster

Goodvertising are social good campaigns that offer the possibility to reach out and connect with people around issues that have the potential to make a positive difference while truly distinguishing the brand. Although 2018 has produced some of the most innovative social good campaigns yet, but for the sake of brevity the ones selected by Thomas Kolster stand as examples of brands (and agencies) that dared to make a mark, through simple yet a caring brand story. Check out Kolster’s top 10 favorite social good ads from 2018 (in no particular order) and see how brands and businesses are using creativity to do well by doing good.

1 Palau Pledge

As tourism is taking its toll all over the world on the environment, it’s great to see a tropical paradise demanding its visitors to pay respect. The campaign has done well across the award circuit and it’s well deserved with its simple, but powerful execution. I’ve always loved scalable ideas - and this one has a potential to make an even bigger impact across the world. Please someone copy-paste!

2 Carlsberg Snap Pack

The ad industry is definitely not alone in coming up with great ideas. The brewery giant Carlsberg came up with a simple solution to the plastic problem: they got rid of the six-pack ring and rather glued the cans together in what they call a Snap Pack. Often the simplest ideas are the most impactful.

3 Black Supermarket

I really liked how one supermarket chain, Carrefour, dared to go up against European legislation and fight for something that’s getting increasingly important: bio-diversity. It’s a difficult topic to tackle, but by opening everyone’s eyes to the natural, diverse and exciting choices that normally aren’t allowed inside supermarkets one stunt did create lasting, legislative change.

4 Nature represented

Creativity shouldn’t be limited to the constraints of a 30-second film or the size of a print ad, but always strive to solve problems even if they seem, at the beginning, impossible. It’s often the voiceless that’s being exploited or oppressed, but this campaign cleverly gives the Ecuadorian nature the legal representation needed to fight back!

5 Change Please

The charitable sector is often very conservative and stuck in a donation mindset. This idea provides a sustainable income for the homeless, but also gives them the much needed life skills and self-confidence that’s needed to one day find a new path forward. More ideas like this one is needed as people are feeling a donation fatigue.

6 Forbidden Stories

The unprecedented attack on journalism in 2018 is a threat to our democratic societies. We need journalism to keep those in power accountable. Forbidden Stories provides a much needed collaborative tool for journalists to show those in power that no story can be silenced. And it shows how our industry can use creativity in new ingenious ways.

7 A school strike by Greta

Not every noteworthy campaign comes from our industry as every man or woman, girl or boy can be an advocate for change. And so was 15-yearold Greta Thunberg as she spoke for her generation at the COP24 climate summit, following a school strike in August, which has inspired more than 20,000 students in more than 270 towns and cities in countries including Australia, the UK, Belgium, Japan, and the US.

8 #SHEDRIVES

Women’s rights are still an allimportant topic and in many countries they’re far from given. I really want to pay credit to Nissan for the #SHEDRIVES campaign in Saudi Arabia, as women finally have the right to drive but still has to fight societal taboos. This campaign is a first step in the right direction. I hope this is not a cheap, insincere one-off, but Nissan keeps to shine a light on women’s rights.

9 Em Khalil Bou Khalil

There’s been similar campaigns playing with the meaning of a word or symbol that blatantly show the stronghold of the patriarchy, but I like how this campaign take a 360-approach to the topic and how one supermarket chain dares to put values before profit.

10 Bodyform “Blood Normal”

As every brand these days are trying to jump on the pink bandwagon and fight for women’s rights the great campaigns are far between. Blood normal took a bold approach and turned one of advertising’s oldest clichés the blue liquid into a cut-through conversation starter. Kudos. That’s exactly what creativity should do; make us see the world in a different perspective.

Palau is the first nation on earth to change its immigration laws for the cause of environmental protection. Upon entry, visitors need to sign a passport pledge to act in an ecologically responsible way on the island, for the sake of Palau’s children and future generations of Palauans.

CARLSBERG has taken a bold step against the amount of plastic waste it generates by changing a 50-year-old element of its packaging. It has launched the ‘Snap Pack, ’a new packaging innovation, which sees cans held together by glue, rather than plastic rings.

Ecuador is the first country in the world to grant rights to nature, such as a river’s right to flow freely. To uphold these rights, Asamblea Nacional created a campaign to call attention to lawyers who could contribute their pro bono hours to the cause.

Because of an absurd law supported by the agrochemical lobby, people only have access to 3% of fruits and vegetables produced. The other 97% are illegal, because a producer can only grow what is registered in the Official Catalogue of Authorised Species. To change this, France’s Carrefour defied the law, by creating The Black Supermarket: a place to sell illegal fruits and vegetables and defend biodiversity. The campaign led to a new Eu-wide law.

Forbidden Stories is an innovative platform that allows endangered journalists to secure their information on forbiddenstories.org. This secure platform gives journalists the opportunity to pursue silenced journalists’ work and continue their investigation for the truth, which is then unveiled to a wide audience.

This is a new social enterprise scheme, pioneered by NGO Change Please, in which homeless people will staff coffee carts. Each is given professional barista training and then earns the London living wage of £9.15 an hour.

The Swedish girl Greta Thunberg went “on strike” from her school and took a seat in front of the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm to raise climate awareness. The 15-year-old girl sat in front of the Parliament every day during school hours with a sign reading ‘School Strike for the Climate’.

To mark Saudi Arabia’s historic decision to permit women to drive, Nissan invited women to a special driving lesson. Only this one was with an unexpected instructor: a male family member.

On Women’s Equality Day, Bou Khalil supermarket changed its store signage to Em Khalil for one day, as a sign of solidarity with women. For non-arabic speaking people, Bou Khalil is a family name but it also means ‘Father of Khalil’. And so, Em Khalil, which means ‘mother of Khalil’ brings the woman at the forefront of the brand.

This is one brave campaign from feminine care brands Bodyform and sister brand Libresse that shows menstrual blood realistically for the first time in a global ad campaign aiming to smash taboos around periods.