±±¾©Èü³µpk10

Voluntary Services Overseas is launching a press campaign to help

increase its levels of volunteer recruitment.

The response campaign, through Leonardo, will run both in national and

trade professional press and is backed by direct mail and online

activity.

Leonardo has developed 12 press executions featuring everyday objects

such as a rope, a pipe and a cucumber. Alongside each image is a

multiple-choice question giving potential volunteers three options of

how to use the object. Then the ads show the "correct" option.

The "cucumber" execution offers three suggestions: "A. a safe sex

educator, B. rabbit food, C. beauty treatment."

The endline shows that the correct answer to the question is A and

explains: "VSO volunteers working to promote HIV awareness can capture

people's attention and address serious issues such as condom use in a

direct and inoffensive way."

The press executions will run in broadsheet and tabloid press as well as

magazines such as the Times Education Supplement. Direct mail will

follow later this year. The ads are intended to build awareness of the

VSO brand as well as to recruiting volunteers.

Gary Sharpen, the creative director at Leonardo, said: "It's a clever

and contemporary campaign with a dash of humour. The message is 'working

for VSO is a great challenge - are you up to it?'"

Glyn Williams, VSO's head of marketing, said: "This campaign is about

dramatically shifting people's perceptions of what volunteering is

actually about. And it clarifies the types of volunteers we are looking

for."

The ads were art directed by Stuart Button and the copywriter was Wesley

Hawes. Media is through Starcom Motive.