Surprisingly Subtle

Usually, guerrilla marketing promotions are anything but subtle. In-your-face promotion has long been seen as the best way to reach those markets that have become jaded and almost immune to traditional advertising. But some subjects require a degree of subtlety. Dignity in Death, an organization that supports the rights of terminally-ill individuals to choose euthanasia rather than suffer unnecessarily under prolonged, expensive hospital treatment, understood the extreme sensitivity surrounding the issue of voluntary euthanasia. However, they wanted to raise awareness about living wills as a means of making one's wishes known to loved ones and healthcare professionals in case of mental incapacitation. As this is a very difficult subject to broach normally, they decided to go the guerrilla marketing route.

These "memorial" customized plaque benches - simple, subtle, yet chillingly effective - treat their subjects with respect while highlighting the horrible suffering that voluntary euthanasia has the ability to prevent. This unconventional promotion allowed the organization to treat a sensitive subject with respect while making sure it was noticed.