Since 1944, the United Negro College Fund has operated under the banner “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste.” Today, they’re updating to the too-long slogan “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste But a Wonderful Thing to Invest In.”
Regardless of its verbosity, Y&R New York and the Ad Council’s new campaign is a smart, relevant adaptation. Instead of accepting donations for their fund, UNCF is “taking the cause straight to where the money is,” and has created the first-ever stock for social change. Columbia University economist Clive Belfield created an algorithm to determine the value of a share, which investors can purchase via Better Futures’ website.
The Better Futures campaign puts concept into practice, and shows people that they’re not just giving money, they’re investing in future generations. Y&R’s pro bono work will include print and TV PSAs that “use real stories from real UNCF students to show how that investment will pay dividends for all our futures,” says Michael L. Lomax, president/CEO of UNCF, in a statement. If investors are inspired to get involved, the Better Futures stock could be Wall Street’s most meaningful.
Credits after the jump.
Client: UNCF/AD COUNCIL
Main Client: Richard Shropshire/ Dr. Michael Lomax
Agency – Young and Rubicam/ NY
CCO – Jim Elliott
Creative Director/Writer – Bruce Jacobson
ACD/Art Director – Alan Vladusic
ACD/Art Director – Cliff Skeete
Account Director– Britta Dahl
Account Sup – Sarah Blechner
Producer – Stacey Higgins
Head of Production – Letitia Jacobs
Music Sup: Jessica Dierauer
Ad Council: Deborah Leiter/ Talia Joseph
Production Company – Furlined
Director – Dan Lindsay & TJ Martin
Executive Producer – Eriks Krumins
DP – Malik Sayeed
Line Producer – Jason Gilbert
Editorial Company – Cosmo Street
Editors – Steve Bell, Craig Deardoff
Editorial Producer – Jennifer Parikh
Exec Producer: Maura Woodward
Finishing – Company 3
Colorist: Rob Sciarratta
Color Producer: Katie Andrews
Online/Finishing Artist: Steve Morris/Tom McCullough
Online/Finishing Producer: Matthew Engel
Mix Studio – Heard City NY
Sound/Mix Engineer – Evan Mangiamele
Exec Producer – Gloria Pitagorsky
Music – Future Perfect
Composers: John Connolly & Victor Magro
Exec Producer: Maxwell Gosling
Production Company: ACNE Production
Executive Producer: Fran McGivern
Executive Interactive Producer: Jacinte Faria
Associate Producer: Tina Avanessian
Interactive Creative Director: Martin Pagh Ludvigsen
Senior Art Director: Stevie Laux
Back-end Developer: Stan Wiechers
Front-end Developer: Manuel Vivoda