Children, The Family and Health: What it Takes to Give Children Long Life
The Singapore Workshop: Give a Kid a Hand
Introduction by Thanpuying Sumalee Chartikavanij
Norman Vale is currently the Director General of the International Advertising Association (the IAA). He joined the Association in 1990 in a new position within the organization designed to increase global leadership. Prior to that, Mr. Vale spent 22 years with the Grey Agency in international advertising and management. He has lectured at universities all around the world. He speaks Spanish, Portuguese and German. Mr. Vale earned a B.A. in Business Administration fron City College New York. He is here today to talk about an international volunteer project.
Good morning ladies. It’s a privilege to be with you during this workshop and have an opportunity to share a special program which IAA launched last year with Her Excellency, Madame Suzanne Mubarak.
As the Director of the International Advertising Association, most speeches and presentations are directed to peers. In this case, speaking in front of you is somewhat intimidating because you probably know more about the subject than I! I won’t pretend to be an expert about children.
In 1992, the IAA harnessed the professional skills of this business to launch our campaign, “The Case for Advertising” or “Your Right to Choose”. It started as a concept and became enormously successful in adaptations and exposure. We acquired unique, global experience.
Now we want to use those same skills to argue the case for caring...caring for the world’s children. That’s why we’ve committed ourselves to a long-term communications program that focuses entirely on children - our future. And, we believe there’s something the individual can do to help children everywhere. At least, to help to realize the potential that’s in every child..
And, we believe that we can harness that “something” without duplicating or cutting across the work done by so many other organizations already at work. Few of which, by the way, have anything like the global reach we have.
Before describing in more detail, I should tell you that we consulted and collaborated with organizations such as UNICEF, the US Advertising Council, educational foundations, child psychologists and scores of specialist volunteers throughout the world. We wanted to make sure that we set off on the right foot. Their combined experience helped us identify the priority needs for focus and then see some results.
We aim to raise people’s awareness of what can be done about these 5 priorities: nutrition, sanitation, health care, education and care and nurturing. Dr. Wong mentioned the first four of these areas in her opening address last night.
We want to use our communications skills to persuade the ordinary person that there really is something they can personally do to make things better. And that something is not to give money to clear their conscience. As we shall say in so many words “ It’s not your money. It’s YOU we want.” We want people to volunteer for one of the activities and point them in the direction of the people who are already doing something about it and doing it efficiently.
The global campaign will be localized. This is the key - to generate the interest of the individual and focus that response through relevant organizations.
The children we want to help - between birth and five years of age - are the neediest this Planet Earth has yet to see. Not for food,necessarily. For many of them that’s not their main problem. You can have a full stomach and an empty heart. This is the most critical age group for intervention. Every child needs love and someone to care. A lot of them don’t get either. They’re the ones we want to help.
They need a hand. And that’s just what we intend to give them - a hand. There’s an old saying in the advertising business...”When you can’t say it, sing it”.
And, it’s your hand we’re thinking of in our key graphic. A protecting hand...a helping hand. Here’s our key ad. What it says...”The first five years of a child’s life are critical, the experts tell us. That’s when their characters are formed. That’s when caring counts most. Someone to show them how to do things. Someone just to hold them. Unfortunately, for many of the world’s children, that’s just what they don’t get. And society suffers as a result - because a deprived child has a lot less chance of growing up an adjusted adult.
“Some of us believe we can change things or at least try. And we need your help. No, don’t reach in your pocket. It’s not your money - it’s YOU we want. In your community there are dozens of ways you can make personal contact with kids and make a difference in their lives. Maybe you’ll help one to read, to play a game, to learn to laugh. Maybe you’ll be the hand that holds out a little hope. COME ON - HELP US GIVE A KID A HAND.
We know that the theme translates well into other languages. We’re not dealing in problems. You won’t see any sad-eyed children with distended bellies. What you will see is solutions. You can help do these things because there are others out there already doing them...helping a kid write its name...to feed itself...to dress itself...to play...to build a life...You’ll see in our ads we’ve concentrated on telling the emotional story through the significant detail. The hand could be your hand.
The key to the commercials lies in two things...the physical contact between the adult and the child - my hand on your hand...and the satisfaction both derive from what they achieve together. When you do something this good, you get something in return that’s worth much more than money.
So now what?
Well, we applied our industry’s skills in launching this Campaign worldwide. We have the creative talent, the financial resources and the media availabilities within your own countries. This is a two-tiered effort. All the IAA chapters in 59 countries have received a campaign manual, the creative material and specific instructions on how to adapt for their own markets. The manual was also sent to key IAA members in 34 other countries...95 in all.
Telecasts are compliments of CNN International, Star TV, Arab Radio and television, Hong Kong Broadcasting, NBC, Fox News and other global and area satelite broadcasters. The U.S. Ad Council adopted and adapted to unify its many campaigns. Material was tailored for 10,000 consumer magazines and newspapers. And, 1400 TV stations will have two 30 second spots in which they can identify local organizations in need of volunteers. There is $1 trillion in free advertising in the U.S. for children. Each market slots in specific information about local organizations and contacts.
We have an active website with hotlinks for more information about local groups also. www.gakah.org. With all of these resources we’re set for a long-term campaign to help the world’s children achieve their potential.
We’ve been very focused about this Campaign and expectations. We are not experts in child care, psychological testing, instruction manuals and any other dimensions which would benefit children from birth to five years of age. As communicators, our principal function is to motivate people to volunteer their time to these organizations.
Save the Children, Children’s Village SOS and a host of others are in dialogue with us about how to “tie-into” the Campaign. In some cases, we’ve allowed our national chapters to choose an existing organization and to feature that in the communications campaign.
We’re also working with the Kids Club Network in the United Kingdom to assist them in a recruitment drive. The present Kids Club Network offers care to pre-school and school age youngsters and has the support of Her Majesty’s government, Cherie Booth, QC (Mrs. Tony Blair)and Nestle. Currently there are 4,000 facilities throughout the United Kingdom and they expect to have 22,000 open by the year 2002.
There are many Kids Clubs throughout the world...many of which need volunteers. Quite possibly, you’d like to know more about the network. If you give me your card, I will forward it to Ann Longfield, the Director. If you currently work with some group which is helping children, then this Campaign could be adapted in your country by working with our national chapters to assist.
President Ramos of the Philippines used a key quote in his opening speech at ADAsia 1997. The quote is from the Philosopher Martin Buber: “Every person born into this world represents something new, something that never existed before, something original and unique.” We believe that each new child is defined by that.
Questions to Norman Vale
Question: Paddy Walker: How do you make the dream a reality worldwide?
Answer: Creating a campaign like this was the pinacle of my career because it was not commercial, but totally beneficial to others. The “hook” - was to the first ladies of the world or first husbands. The G 7 was meeting at the time and made the appeal through national volunteer leaders to further. This is an upfront campaign, without a hidden agenda.
Question: (Malaysian): In the campaign - the photo: Why doesn’t the adult’s hand curve back?
Part two: indigenous people are very poor - the campaign is very middle class. How will you reach the other poeple.
Answer: We purposely wanted to show the open rather than closed hand of the adult hand as a caring gesture.
Opened the ad campaign last May. In each country there are choices to show different children of different races, etc. In Malaysia, the ad can be changed to show someone helping with sandals rather than tennis shoes.
Question: (Shelly - Australia): Change in concept from the starving, sad children - was that a purposeful decision?
Answer: Hope was the first concept, involvement second and last satisfaction in the ads and videos. If we were to re-do the campaign, it would be re-organized. Casting for the videos purposefully put poeple of two different ethnic groups together to re-inforce the message of helping those other than our families.
Comment: Paddy Walker - It was very uplifting to see the smiling faces of the children in the videos. The hopeless faces in so many ads make it seem too far a reach for the average person. This ad has hope and joy.
Answer: There was great personal satifaction in doing this campaign.
Question: (observer USA) - Saw the ad in Hawaii. Comment - very effective. There is a volunteer day - a national day. A place you can come to get information about volunteer organizations. Question - has GAKAH ever been part of that?
Answer: we’re so new, we have not yet linked up. Give me a card and I’ll respond. Perhaps PPSEAWA would like to make it our mission to spread the word about volunteer day and this campaign?
Last Modified: April 29, 2005