I’m becoming more and more interested in sustainability,
To promote the eco-conscious nature of its BlueMotion vehicles, which are powered by innovative, energy-saving technologies specially designed to reduce both fuel consumption and harmful emissions, Volkswagen and Ogilvy Cape Town created a very smart print ad campaign to reinforce recycling in South Africa. The idea behind it was to develop print inserts that help save paper, not waste it.
“The BlueMotion Label” advert allowed people to easily recycle their magazines once they’ve finished reading them by sticking the inserts onto the front cover and dropping the magazines into a post box to be sent to a recycling plant.
Volkswagen and Ogilvy Cape Town saw an opportunity in the lack of recycling options in South Africa. People there have easy access to post boxes, however not every neighbourhood has formal recycling bins – 77% of magazines in the country are thrown away. The campaign effectively turned post boxes into community recycling bins.
To sponsor the campaign they used the advertisement budget (originally meant for campaign photography and/or illustration) for prepaid postage stickers.
The result: for the first time people in Cape Town people actively participated in recycling. The campaign received a 9% response rate, almost double than the projected figure. After this success Volkswagen aims to spread the eco-friendly ads to other cities in South Africa.
Through the campaign Volkswagen effectively managed to both build brand awareness about its BlueMotion range, but also showed care about the environment and willingness to be innovative and find new ways of advertising their products.
It’s no surprise that the campaign won Silver and Bronze Lions at Cannes 2012.
Why do I like it?
What do you think?