‘You Got Any Better Ideas?’ Campaign

Starting 2005 as it means to go on Chance UK launched the ‘You Got Any Better Ideas?’ campaign. The advertising campaign, centred in and around the Tottenham area, is designed to attract more men, particularly those from black and minority ethnic communities to become positive role-models to children, aged between 5-11 years old, in order to raise their aspirations. The images, pictured below, will appear on buses, bus stops, bus tickets and as well as road side posters and will specifically target the home football matches at Tottenham Hotspur with ad bikes and leafleting.

Bikes advertising campaign near White Hart Lane

“The images are quite hard hitting” says Chance UK ’s Chief Executive, Gracia McGrath “and deliberately so as we want the men to understand what is expected of them. The children we work with have very low expectations of their own futures and we want to attract those special people out there who can help them raise their self-esteem.”

Chance UK has been running in London for nine years and has had some success in attracting male mentors to work with the children, however more are needed. “85% of our children are boys and 61% from BME communities, but only 30% of our mentors are men and only 40% are black.” Says Gracia McGrath “We really want to give young boys a more positive image of what it is like to be a man.”

Campaign advertisement in Stroud Green, Finsbury Park

The money for the campaign was won for Chance UK by Vitamin V a pr company who has supported the organisation for some time. Les Mear CEO of Vitamin V explains “As a business, we are committed to putting as much back into the community as we can and are thrilled to have won the competition for Chance UK . The scale of the campaign we have produced will give them the opportunity to reach many more potential mentors and also raise awareness of the critically important work they do within the community”

                  Les and Michelle from Vitamin V

The campaign won an award of nearly €50,000 in the Sappi ‘Ideas the Matter’ initiative it was one of 244 entries received from 21 countries in this year’s competition. The initiative is open to graphic designers, advertising professionals and students in Europe, Southern Africa and North America . André Oberholzer, Group Head of Corporate Affairs for Sappi Limited commented "Sappi congratulates the winners on their excellent creative concepts and the innovative ideas they used in their proposed campaigns.  We hope the causes identified for 2004 will substantially benefit from the grants made."

'You got any better ideas?' campaign poster in Edmonton, North London

     Chance UK are aiming to increase the numbers of male mentors to 50% and the number of BME mentors to 60% as a result of this campaign.

click here to view the Chance UK volunteer page