Nothing.org TV: "Taste Test"

Branding “Nothing!”

Since these days, I am consulting mainly in the areas of Branding and Cause Marketing, it was a pleasure recently to encounter a brilliant piece of Cause Branding, that met most of my criteria for both skills. It was featured on a local talk show “The Callie Crossley Show” on a Boston NPR station, WGBH.

The campaign was for what was certainly a very good cause: the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. In these economically stressed times, there are many residents of the tiny state (particularly hard-hit by the recession) who have literally, nothing to eat. The breakthrough moment for the creative team at Providence Advertising Agency Nail was to brand that meal of “no-choice” as if it were an actual product called, simply, “Nothing.”

Here is where it brilliantly fulfills one of the oft-neglected principles of a Cause Marketing Creative Brief: Desired action. Too often, campaigns for causes like this get so caught up in the portrayal of sad, emaciated children that they cross our “compassion fatigue” line. “Look,” we respond, I care about these hungry families. But the problem’s just too big. There’s nothing I can do!”

The “Nothing” campaign provides a simple answer on their easy-to-remember web site, www.nothing.org. Simply buy one or more of these empty “Nothing” cans at any of the participating retail outlets for $2.99 apiece (Dunkin’ Donuts, Whole Foods, etc. ) and for each can purchased, the Food Bank will deliver 15 pounds of food to a hungry family. The TV ads, which feature a bogus “Taste Test” at a shopping mall catches real people’s reactions when the silver cover for the tested “food” is removed to reveal . . . nothing! --RICHARD EARLE

A link to the campaign on YouTube is above.