Unwelcome Mat

Volunteers for ELEM, an Israeli organization that helps homeless youth survive and avoid trauma and crisis situations, needed a promotional awareness product for an upcoming fundraiser date. Creating empathy is a popular - and useful - way to encourage people to give to a cause, but most people with the money to contribute probably haven't been homeless at any point in their lives, so the volunteers used these "NOT WELCOME" customized mats to attempt to recreate the stark, hostile feeling of being unwelcome in one's own home as a teenager. The mats were placed over the tenants' own doormats, with information on the underside about ELEM and the upcoming donation date.

This is a pretty straightforward campaign, and I think it gets the point across well without attempting to tug at potential givers' heartstrings too much. I also like how they avoid knocking on homeowners' doors - so few people are receptive to visits from strangers that it would be counterproductive of the volunteers to try to talk their way into their wallets.

[via Ads of the World]