For the past year, a growing number of Canadians have been using real postage stamps to raise awareness of missing or exploited children in Canada each year. It would seem it’s their version of the milk carton.
Using stamps as the centerpiece of this initiative was the idea of Lowe Roche, which also designed and developed the campaign’s website and activation pieces. At MissingKidsStamps.ca, Canadians can create individual postage stamps featuring missing children and, in turn, each visitor to the site is afforded the opportunity to help put their photographs in homes and offices across Canada and around the world all so that the stamps hopefully fall into the hands of someone who might recognize the child.
Extending the campaign, the agency created a large installation at the Beverly Hotel in downtown Toronto that consisted of 1,000 missing kids stamps. Passersby were encouraged to take and use each and every one of the 1,000 stamps. As the stamps were removed, the image of a missing child was revealed further calling attention to the mission to find missing children.
Of the approach, The Missing Children’s Network Director Pina Arcamone said, “The concept really is ingenious, and in line with our mission. We’ve made a commitment to the families that we work with to use every channel available to us to help them find their loved ones. The postage stamp is so universal, and passes through so many hands each day – it offers a way of paying homage to these children so they will never be forgotten. We were surprised no one had thought to use them in this way before, but more than happy to be the first to innovate in this way.”
It would seem the effort has paid off. Just this year two children featured in this campaign were found and reunited with their families.
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