TAXI DELIVERS KNOCKOUT PUNCH - Strategy

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On the list of charities Canadians contribute to, the UNHCR was not even in the top 10. The agency needed a daring and audacious awareness
campaign to help raise funds for more than 20 million refugees worldwide.
The key problem was that most Canadians don’t understand what it means to be a refugee. BBDO brought the plight of refugees to light by
dramatizing what would happen if people suddenly found themselves stripped of the things they take for granted: food, water and shelter.
A fi ctitious department, “Housing Security & Evictions,” was created to call upon residents living in upscale neighbourhoods and make them
believe they were losing their homes. Homes were selected through an anonymous referral program, with background information adding
believability to the exercise. Hidden cameras captured the events, which were then used as part of the TV and digital broadcast advertising
effort. Every unwitting homeowner who participated in the shoot ultimately approved the campaign after it was complete.
BBDO also created leavenow.ca, where consumers could fi nd more information about the diffi culties of refugees and the ways the UNHCR is
helping, make a donation online and see where their dollars are going.
The “Eviction Project” put the plight of refugees on the radar. Donations increased by more than 80% versus the previous year, exceeding
the annual fundraising effort of $2 million.
BBDO • UN HIGH COMMISSION FOR REFUGEES