The Gift of Water is a charity organization devoted to providing clean water for those in need. In late 2012, they posted a video on YouTube called “First World Problems Anthem” to promote the cause. Over 4 million views later, we examine what took this charity campaign above and beyond:
It’s simple.
Yes, statistics have their place in cause marketing. This one-minute video easily could have included that 780 million people don’t have access to clean water, or that every 21 seconds, a child dies from a water-related illness, but in this instance, they chose to do something different.
After all, you can’t expect a video to go viral if it’s not unique. Fortunately, it doesn’t take flashy effects or shocking characters – even in today’s media-saturated world, people still respect a clever, meaningful idea. Literally the only words about the cause itself appear in text form at the very end: “WaterIsLife.com. Clean water. Hygiene. Transformation.”
It doesn’t preach.
Another common trend in charity commercials is the solemn “please, help us” narrative voice. There’s nothing inherently wrong with it, except that it’s so overused that the public has become immune (I’m looking at you, Sarah-McLachlan-animal-adoption commercial.)
“First World Problems Anthem” proves that is possible to target a viewer, shake up their perspective, and touch their heart, all without preaching. It literally never asks the audience for anything. And as anyone who’s seen the movie Inception knows, there’s an enormous difference between telling someone what to do versus planting the seed of an idea so they can come to a conclusion on their own.
It incorporates a cultural phenomenon in a fresh way without trying too hard.
The video capitalized on the popularity of the “first world problems” fad. Whenever people complaned about their “problems,” usually by sharing a meme or including a hashtag, it came with a sense of sheepish selfishness and the lingering urge to care about something meaningful.
The Gift of Water capitalized on that moment of cognitive dissonance by essentially saying, “You want to stop worrying about petty nonsense, and start caring about something that matters? Here you go.” They took a risk by gently shaming the audience, almost to the point of poking fun at them. Of course, the cause itself isn’t humorous, but the concept does inject a little lightness into a dire situation.
While audiences are reluctant to share content on their social media that is too “intense” or “depressing,” it’s clear that the lighter nature of this video made people more willing to promote it. Ultimately, this made the campaign all the more effective, and that much more beneficial to raise funds for clean water around the world.
