Centraide Rises Up Against Poverty and Exclusion

For their first collaboration, Centraide of Greater Montreal and Rethink are launching an awareness campaign on the eve of the organization’s 50th anniversary. 

The campaign, simply entitled “Rise Up,” shows common examples of poverty and social exclusion in Greater Montreal—a person experiencing homelessness, a senior living on her own, a victim of bullying, an immigrant family subjected to racial profiling, and a man in psychological distress. While they seem to bear the weight of their situation on their own, a figure representing Centraide and community workers literally and figuratively helps to lift them up out of poverty and exclusion. As they soar up into the air, they are no longer carrying the burden alone.

 

“This notion of soaring is the perfect allegory to show how Centraide takes concrete action to support the 350 organizations that help vulnerable people in Greater Montreal,” states Julie Gagné, Vice-President of Marketing and Communications at Centraide of Greater Montreal. “We wanted to launch a campaign with an uplifting and caring message but a powerful one as well. Social issues such as those presented in the ad must be at the centre of our concerns and discussions.” 

The campaign includes 60-, 30-, and 15-second TV and web messages, in addition to complementary static poster and print materials, social content, and digital placements.

“When dealing with poverty and exclusion, it’s easy to fall into the trap of miserabilism or caricature,” explains Maxime Sauté, Creative Director at Rethink. “By showing this notion of rising up in a literal manner, we are portraying a reality, but one rooted in hope.”