Our challenge was to use ABSA bank’s long-standing sponsorship of Casual Day to grow donations and raise awareness and intrigue for Casual Day, a non-profit organisation benefiting persons with disabilities in South Africa. Casual Day had been losing support and interest in South Africa. Our solution was to create an anti-suit movement, named People Against Suits & Ties (P.A.S.T.), that stirred things up through disruptive messaging. It showed that wearing a suit on Casual Day held persons with disabilities back by not showing them the support they require and deserve. We then created fake high-fashion billboards to speak to suit wearers. These were then defaced by P.A.S.T. with anti-suit messaging. Our group also held protests in major business districts and hijacked a TV broadcast, all the while pleading with consumers to buy Casual Day stickers and dress down. Casual Day received coverage in all of South Africa’s major newspapers, on 15 radio stations and was broadcast on two TV channels, giving Casual Day a 900% return on PR alone from our entire campaign budget, as well as helping to sell 13% more stickers than ever before. More importantly, the campaign gave persons with disabilities the attention and support they deserve.

The Solution: Targeting suit wearing South Africans our anti-suit movement, People Against Suits & Ties defaced numerous fashion billboards, hosted huge anti-suit protests outside business districts, hijacked TV broadcasts and viral content in an effort to get people to buy Casual Day stickers and dress down on Casual Day in support of persons with disabilities. As Casual Day’s donations had been dropping in previous years the campaign needed to influence more business oriented people than ever before, in an effort to get them to purchase Casual Day stickers and grow donations.

ABSA Bank’s goal of growing donations and awareness for Casual Day was achieved and in many cases we had overshot our aims. From our small budget we had managed to create a real movement which has received a 900% return on our initial advertising spend, and that was on PR generation alone. We also managed to grow donations for Casual Day by 13% on Casual Day’s most successful year previously. ABSA Bank’s sponsorship of Casual Day was highlighted in many media touch-points, giving not only our client attention but also giving persons with disabilities the airtime and support that they so desperately require.