CoorDown launches follow-up to hit campaign

Often it’s the people with the biggest influence who say the most pointless things. For example, singer Katy Perry recently chose to inform her 34 million Twitter followers that, “If I were a cookie, I would be a thin mint girl scout cookie. FYI”.

While we’re not suggesting that celebrities should feel responsible for rectifying society’s failings by educating their fans about important issues, it would be nice if they occasionally used their reach for a good cause.

Following last year’s outstanding Integration campaign, which cost next-to-nothing but earned millions of euros worth of media, Saatchi & Saatchi Italy has launched its latest work for Down Syndrome association CoorDown.

Fifty people with the syndrome have posted videos on the CoorDown website and social media channels, asking their famous heroes for help. The twist is that they don’t want the celebrities’ cash, they just want them to make a video of their own, appealing to fans to make donations to the association. The theory is that collectively the celebrities can generate much more money by spreading the word via social media than if they’d just made a financial contribution themselves.

CoorDown hopes that the stars who have been invited to participate - including footballer Francesco Totti, actress Sharon Stone and singer Tiziano Ferro – will record and share their videos by 21 March, World Down Syndrome Day. Check out the campaign at the CoorDown website or Facebook page and read our in-depth report on charity advertising in issue 142 of shots, out in two weeks.