DDB New York and WATERisLIFE show how short life can be in the areas of sub-Saharan Africa where unsafe drinking water is a leading cause of death in children under five years old
NEW YORK, Aug. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- DDB New York and WATERisLIFE have launched an emotional campaign titled, "Kenya Bucket List," where a film crew travelled to Kenya to take a four-year-old Maasai boy named Nkaitole (pronounced Guytolie), who's never been out of his remote African village, on an adventure to do all the things he's always wanted to do before he dies. Why? Because in sub-Saharan Africa where he lives, unsafe drinking water is one of the main causes that prevents one in five children from reaching their fifth birthday.
The Bucket List is a term popularized by the Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson
film of the same name. By creating a campaign around this phrase,
WATERisLIFE has again used pop culture as an integral part of their
marketing communication. It follows on the heels of last year's
successful "Hashtag Killer" campaign, in which they attempted to
eliminate the popular #FirstWorldProblems hashtag by traveling to Haiti and filming locals as they read the insensitive tweets back to their original authors.
The campaign is centered around a deeply emotional and powerful two-minute film, which documents Nkaitole's bucket list from start to finish. In it, the viewer watches him (along with his Uncle Joel) traveling across Kenya, experiencing things like getting his first kiss, seeing the ocean for the first time, playing soccer in the national stadium (his personal favorite), flying in a hot air balloon, learning to ice skate, and trying ice cream. The film compiles all of these amazing experiences to help drive home the message that this little boy might not reach his fifth birthday unless we help him and the other children of sub-Saharan Africa.
"This campaign gives a face to the millions of young African children who will not live to see their fifth birthday," said Matt Eastwood, Chief Creative Officer of DDB New York. "We hope that by sharing this one child's experience, we can help raise enough money to provide Nkaitole and thousands of other children with clean water and the chance at a long and healthy life."
The campaign will be launched with the help of WATERisLIFE's social channels, with messaging that includes the #5YearsToLive hashtag on Twitter, a series of video clips where American children recite their bucket list on Facebook, and a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the campaign through photos and videos on Instagram. More traditional elements include a series of print ads, each of which will highlight individual bucket list experiences, as well as radio, which will roll out at a later date.
The focus of the campaign is to shed light on the hardships of children in underprivileged societies, as well as to provide them with direct help. "Like our previous campaigns, we'll direct donations from this video to help those who actually appear in it," says Kristine Bender, Executive Director of WATERisLIFE. "Nkaitole's village, as well as many other Maasai villages like his, will be able to receive clean water, proper sanitation and hygiene education as a result of this effort."
DDB New York and WATERisLIFE had separate fundraisers to raise money to produce The Bucket List campaign. This installment marks the second campaign for WATERisLIFE since they partnered with DDB New York in early 2012. Each campaign has been more successful than the last, with donations increasing by over 500% since this partnership began.
To donate or learn more about WATERisLIFE, visit www.waterislife.com.
Bucket List Definition
A list of things that one has not done before but wants to do before dying. It comes from the phrase kick the bucket and was popularized by the movie, The Bucket List, starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson.
About WATERisLIFE
WATERisLIFE was founded in March 2009, and is proud of the efforts over the past four years to dramatically expand program development and funding, volunteer staff and in-country partnerships. We have distributed over 60,000 WiL personal water filters in 36 countries and have distributed filters during emergency/disaster relief initiatives globally. WiL has repaired pumps, drilled wells, provided home filters, protected current water sources, installed water systems, as well as provided school and village WASH education programs. Our volunteer staff has researched and developed three targeted WiL program areas – 334 villages in Kenya, Ghana and Haiti – for clean water, sanitation, and hygiene transformation. And we are just getting started.
About DDB
DDB Worldwide (www.ddb.com) is one of the world's largest and most awarded advertising and marketing networks. In 2012 DDB was named Advertising Network of the Year by Campaign, as well as Agency of the Year and Digital Agency of the Year by Strategy magazine. At the prestigious 2013 Cannes International Festival of Creativity, DDB won 93 Lions, the most ever for the network. In addition, The Gunn Report has listed DDB as one of the Top 3 Global Networks for the last 12 years. The agency's clients include Volkswagen, McDonald's, Unilever, Mars, Johnson & Johnson, and Exxon Mobil, among others.
Founded in 1949, DDB is part of the Omnicom Group (NYSE) and consists of more than 200 offices in over 90 countries with its flagship office in New York, NY.
About Omnicom Group Inc.
Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE-OMC) is a leading global marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom's branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, digital and interactive marketing, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.
For further information on Omnicom and its brands, please visit www.omnicomgroup.com.
Contact
Christie Giera
Christie.giera@ddb.com
212-415-2186
Melody Wolff
Melody.wolff@ddb.cm
212-415-2310
Related Link
WATERisLife
Video with caption: "No Child Should Need a Bucket List. DDB New York and WATERisLIFE show how short life can be in the areas of sub-Saharan Africa where unsafe drinking water is a leading cause of death in children under five years old." Video available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYf82F3CHYo
SOURCE DDB New York
The campaign is centered around a deeply emotional and powerful two-minute film, which documents Nkaitole's bucket list from start to finish. In it, the viewer watches him (along with his Uncle Joel) traveling across Kenya, experiencing things like getting his first kiss, seeing the ocean for the first time, playing soccer in the national stadium (his personal favorite), flying in a hot air balloon, learning to ice skate, and trying ice cream. The film compiles all of these amazing experiences to help drive home the message that this little boy might not reach his fifth birthday unless we help him and the other children of sub-Saharan Africa.
"This campaign gives a face to the millions of young African children who will not live to see their fifth birthday," said Matt Eastwood, Chief Creative Officer of DDB New York. "We hope that by sharing this one child's experience, we can help raise enough money to provide Nkaitole and thousands of other children with clean water and the chance at a long and healthy life."
The campaign will be launched with the help of WATERisLIFE's social channels, with messaging that includes the #5YearsToLive hashtag on Twitter, a series of video clips where American children recite their bucket list on Facebook, and a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the campaign through photos and videos on Instagram. More traditional elements include a series of print ads, each of which will highlight individual bucket list experiences, as well as radio, which will roll out at a later date.
The focus of the campaign is to shed light on the hardships of children in underprivileged societies, as well as to provide them with direct help. "Like our previous campaigns, we'll direct donations from this video to help those who actually appear in it," says Kristine Bender, Executive Director of WATERisLIFE. "Nkaitole's village, as well as many other Maasai villages like his, will be able to receive clean water, proper sanitation and hygiene education as a result of this effort."
DDB New York and WATERisLIFE had separate fundraisers to raise money to produce The Bucket List campaign. This installment marks the second campaign for WATERisLIFE since they partnered with DDB New York in early 2012. Each campaign has been more successful than the last, with donations increasing by over 500% since this partnership began.
To donate or learn more about WATERisLIFE, visit www.waterislife.com.
Bucket List Definition
A list of things that one has not done before but wants to do before dying. It comes from the phrase kick the bucket and was popularized by the movie, The Bucket List, starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson.
About WATERisLIFE
WATERisLIFE was founded in March 2009, and is proud of the efforts over the past four years to dramatically expand program development and funding, volunteer staff and in-country partnerships. We have distributed over 60,000 WiL personal water filters in 36 countries and have distributed filters during emergency/disaster relief initiatives globally. WiL has repaired pumps, drilled wells, provided home filters, protected current water sources, installed water systems, as well as provided school and village WASH education programs. Our volunteer staff has researched and developed three targeted WiL program areas – 334 villages in Kenya, Ghana and Haiti – for clean water, sanitation, and hygiene transformation. And we are just getting started.
About DDB
DDB Worldwide (www.ddb.com) is one of the world's largest and most awarded advertising and marketing networks. In 2012 DDB was named Advertising Network of the Year by Campaign, as well as Agency of the Year and Digital Agency of the Year by Strategy magazine. At the prestigious 2013 Cannes International Festival of Creativity, DDB won 93 Lions, the most ever for the network. In addition, The Gunn Report has listed DDB as one of the Top 3 Global Networks for the last 12 years. The agency's clients include Volkswagen, McDonald's, Unilever, Mars, Johnson & Johnson, and Exxon Mobil, among others.
Founded in 1949, DDB is part of the Omnicom Group (NYSE) and consists of more than 200 offices in over 90 countries with its flagship office in New York, NY.
About Omnicom Group Inc.
Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE-OMC) is a leading global marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom's branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, digital and interactive marketing, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.
For further information on Omnicom and its brands, please visit www.omnicomgroup.com.
Contact
Christie Giera
Christie.giera@ddb.com
212-415-2186
Melody Wolff
Melody.wolff@ddb.cm
212-415-2310
Related Link
WATERisLife
Video with caption: "No Child Should Need a Bucket List. DDB New York and WATERisLIFE show how short life can be in the areas of sub-Saharan Africa where unsafe drinking water is a leading cause of death in children under five years old." Video available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYf82F3CHYo
SOURCE DDB New York
Web Site: http://www.ddb.com
7 Aug 2013 15:27 Africa/Lagos
IFC to Launch $1 Billion Local-Currency Bond Program to Support Nigeria's Capital Markets
WASHINGTON, 7 August 2013 / PRNewswire Africa / - IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is working with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Nigeria to launch the first long-term, local-currency bond program in the country. The program will allow IFC to issue a series of local-currency bonds totaling up to $1 billion, to deepen domestic capital markets and support private
sector development in Nigeria.
Nigeria is a leader in the implementation of the IFC Pan African Domestic Medium Term Note Programme. The program enables IFC to raise long-term, local-currency funding for private sector development in the region.
“SEC has spearheaded a number of reforms to accelerate the development of Nigeria's domestic capital markets, and the IFC program is an important contribution to these efforts,” said Arunma Oteh, Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission. “It will enable regular domestic issuances by an international, triple-A rated issuer, expanding the opportunities for investors and increasing access to local-currency finance for Nigerian businesses.”
In February 2013, IFC issued the first local-currency bond by a non-resident issuer in Nigeria, raising 12 billion naira ($76.3 million).
IFC issues bonds as part of its regular program of raising funds for private sector development, and to support the development of domestic capital markets. In many cases IFC is the first, or among the first non-resident issuers.
IFC Vice President and Treasurer Jingdong Hua said: “A vibrant, local-currency capital market is essential for any country to achieve its full economic potential, and a cornerstone of our strategy to help countries achieve sustainable growth. Our desire to put in place a program for regular naira-denominated issuances reflects IFC's commitment to the domestic capital markets in Nigeria, and our growing investment to support private sector development in the country.”
IFC's strategy in Nigeria prioritizes infrastructure, especially power, which was identified as the key constraint to private sector development; agribusiness, the largest single contributor to GDP and the largest employer, especially within the rural poor; the development of small and medium enterprises, the country's largest formal and informal employer, including for youth; and housing. These strategic areas are also in line with the Government of Nigeria's key priorities.
IFC's committed portfolio in Nigeria stands at $1.5 billion, the largest country portfolio in Africa and the eighth-largest globally.
SOURCE : International Finance Corporation (IFC)
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