Stripping For a Cause?
Virgin Mobile had launched a new viral marketing campaign called Strip2Clothe to do something about the one million or so homeless kids living in the United States. Armed with a controversial plan of action they originally tried to help the situation by launching a site that allowed teens to submit videos of themselves stripping down to their skivvies. With each video submitted they would donate a piece of new clothing to a homeless youth, and when five people watched that video, they would donate another. There were some guidelines, naturally, as to what type of content could be submitted.
However, not everyone believed the project to be the best solution to the homeless problem. A few weeks back, the National Network For Youth (NN4Y) declined partnership with the campaign, believing ties with the site might send mixed messages of helping many young people by exploiting others.
Strip2Clothe, which was only one portion of Virgin Mobile’s Re*Generation Organization, responded quickly changing their submission requirements. Knowing full and well nothing including America’s homeless population would persuade some to take off their clothes on the web anyway, they altered the site, giving it the new title Blank2Clothe. Here, they say “YOU express the unique ways that you’d like to donate to homeless youth.”
By Kevin Wilder BGM
[via] Blank2Clothe
