Sunday, August 24, 2008

Tap Project


Logo concept and design by: Mike Morris, Billy Reano, Tommy Curit and Myself

Many of you have probably heard of UNICEF before… Well, if you have, you’re familiar that they are an organization that works in humanitarian aid.

Recently, an ad agency in NY (Droga 5) approached UNICEF with the conceptual miracle of the “Tap Project.” The owner of Droga 5 was sitting at lunch one day, and had the realization that we, as Americans (and other countries, for that matter) take for granted that which many people don’t have. This realization, in this context, was that drinkable water is abundantly available, at any time, in virtually any place.

What it boils down to is that $1 can provide drinkable water for one child for 40 days, or 40 children for 1 day. So, with this well of knowledge, Droga 5 initiated the Tap Project, and the miracles flowed in. Restaurants started charging $1 for anyone who requested water to drink. The dollar then went to UNICEF who put it in to action.

It was started in NYC, and commenced on National Water day… Since then, other cities have come on board: Boston, Dallas, San Diego, LA, Seattle, New Orleans, Columba SC, etc. Each city was represented by a local Ad Agency, who offered the work for free.

This coming March, the Tap Project will ripple through Utah, collecting donations and proceeding to save the lives of children. The BYU Ad Lab is in charge of the project.

This is why advertising is important. Sure, it is fun to work on the “fluff” projects. But, it’s hard to only do those all the time. If the Tap Project were a glass of water, then the other projects are ice cubes that float on top, buoyed up by the staple of it all.

Thanks Mike for writing this post and allowing me to copy it. I take full credit for this of course. Muhahaha