“Fuck the poor”: shock-tactic campaign from charity

Combine a social experiment with shock tactics and you’re in for some media attention. As part of a campaign for a charity, a man walked the streets wearing a ‘fuck the poor’ sandwich board to find out how much the public really care about the less fortunate.

Charities struggle to reconcile spending enough money to raise awareness with diverting the much-needed money to their cause, and unless you have animals cute enough to compare to Game of Thrones characters (RSPCA), it’s a struggle to make your voice heard.

That’s why this blunt and simple effort from The Pilion Trust charity is so welcome. The charity works with all socially excluded people, and in the video aims to highlight how people will often express sympathy for those living in poverty – but in actuality fail to take steps to combat it by donating money.

Members of the public in the video react angrily before the twist ending reveals what is really going on, and the video closes with the message: “We know you care. But do you care enough to give?”

It’s a powerful and clever effort and has been picked up by the Independent among others.

See the video here:

If you liked this post, why not subscribe to the weekly PRexamples newsletter? Each week, you’ll be sent the top five PR and marketing campaigns and at the beginning of each month, the ten best campaigns from the month before. You know it makes sense.

ALL Other