The NGO Operation Smile was in trouble and running the risk of having to shut down in Brazil. With limited resources to continue caring for vulnerable children with cleft lips, it was also not sufficiently well-known by the public to receive the donations it needed.

The campaign reproduced a Duke University study proving that even apes that didn’t know each other could care for one another. The concept of the “Stay Apes” campaign was provocative enough to attract the attention that the NGO needed and directed the public to a URL where they could watch the experiment with the apes, get to know the work and the social organization’s situation and make donations

The funds raised by Operation Smile went up by 246% with the campaign. Donations of US$ 1,759,961.83 were made and US$ 2,556,150.00 in spontaneous media was generated. And most importantly: 515 children had their smiles reconstructed, 224 more than the previous year.