Advertising can stand to do a little more

Excerpts from a Letter to the Editor
Native Sun News – http://www.nsweekly.com
June 20-27 Issue
Reprinted with permission.
Special thanks to editor Jesse Abernathy
We rarely have time to reflect back on accomplishments or jobs well done. And by “we”, I mean we as a society. We as an industry. We as a marketing and communications firm. In this hustle-bustle, get-it-all-done-yesterday world that we’ve created, those times of reflection are ultimately saved only for special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, and retirement.

But not today.

Today, I want to reflect on the accomplishments of an Introduction to Business class from Oglala Lakota College in Pine Ridge. This spirited group of civic-minded students are working hard to better their community. They believe in the place they live. They believe in each other. More importantly, they believe in the future of their people. They passed out hundreds of disposable cameras to Lakota children. There were no rules about what to take photos of or what’s appropriate. The only direction that came with the camera was a question: What does hope look like to you?  This collection of nearly 2,000 photos figured prominently in a suicide awareness campaign that launched on the reservation in the Fall.

I trust that you will consider attending the opening viewing of this art installation on December 14 in the Dahl Arts Center’s Inez & Milton Shaver Gallery. The display will be open for viewing from 4:00pm-6:00pm with a special program to follow in the adjacent Cyclorama Room. The exhibit will be open to the public through December 31, 2012.

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Humbly, I want to thank that class for what they taught me. That group of Lakota college students gave me a first glimpse into a world that few advertising professionals truly understand. And they gave me a view into a way that life can be lived that surprised me, that invigorated, and enlightened me. They showed me, perhaps for the first time, the true relevance of working in advertising. More importantly, they serve as an important example for our local advertising community. Do something to better your community. Do something to change social forces. Do something to battle societal perceptions. Do something that won’t show up in your company’s bottom line. Do something.

The incalculable genius of Albert Einstein perhaps said it best: “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”

Jason Alley
Creative Director/Principal, Message
Board Member, Black Hills Chapter of the American Advertising Federation

 

Lakota Voice Project

Message, a Rapid City marketing and communications firm, was humbled to be part of the 2012 AAF-Black Hills Public Service campaign. The project was unique in the fact that Black Hills advertising industry professionals worked alongside Oglala Lakota College students to launch a traditional advertising and social media campaign to fight the epidemic of youth suicide on the Pine Ridge Reservation by asking one question: What does hope look like to you?

From an advertising perspective, we believed typical anti-suicide messaging wouldn’t validate the conditions causing suicide among Lakota youth. Furthermore, the people creating the ads are considered outsiders who will never truly understand the audience, and the ads would not feel authentic.

The teenage suicide rate on the Pine Ridge Reservation is 150 percent higher than the national average. Children as young as 6 have attempted to take their own lives. In 2009, the president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe declared a suicide state of emergency. The emergency still exists today.

Against this stark backdrop, we developed an approach that tackled the project from two sides: We passed out 200 disposable cameras to elementary and middle school students across the reservation. There were no rules about what to take photos of or what’s appropriate. The only direction that came with the camera was a question: What does hope look like to you? We then took that message to the Lakota people through traditional advertising and social media prominently displaying the images and giving a voice to Lakota youth.

The answer could come in the form of a meadowlark, a mountain, a sunset, or a grandparent. Of the thousands of photos that were shot, we’d utilize the most powerful ones to be made into billboards, posters, and wild postings. TV and radio PSAs featured Lakota youth asking that they document what hope looked like to them. Lastly, we created a popup art gallery of the nearly 2,000 photos collected from the project. The exhibit will travel across South Dakota and beyond to deliver a message of hope and optimism, that contrary to mainstream perspective, is alive and well on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The exhibit tour will begin in conjunction with the annual Lakota Nation Invitational in Rapid City and run through December 31. The Dahl Arts Center will host a gallery reception on Friday, December 14, from 5:00pm-8:00pm.

Media coverage also played a huge role in generating awareness and online virality for the project. Below are links to just a few of those stories:

South Dakota Public Broadcasting Dakota Digest Segment

Argus Leader feature

KEVN Black Hills Fox feature

A Collection of Student Photos

Billboards, Posters and Wild Postings

TV PSA

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Radio PSA

Time Lapse of the Art Gallery Installation

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Pte San Win on Hope

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