Conscious consumerism + good creative = RIGHT ON!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve noticed at least some of the buzz about corporate social responsibility and the growing trend toward buying from companies that reflect an individual’s values. Just the other day, BBMG published a report that states nearly nine in ten Americans believe the “conscious consumer” label applies to them.

Side note: The Genius disagrees. You have to have a brain to be conscious. Most of you lemmings don’t have one. Or at least you don’t USE it much.

So I felt particularly giddy this morning when I cast my eyes on the latest ad campaign for CREDO Mobile, a socially-responsible outfit that lives under the Working Assets umbrella and donates 1% of “your charges” (whatever that means) to progressive nonprofit groups.

The cleverly named “Say Much More” campaign launched last week in two markets, Seattle and San Francisco, and combines a nice mix of print, outdoor and online ads, running on Ideal Bite, Huffington Post, Evite.com and [hey, let’s see if we can piss off a few conservatives! why not?!] Weather.com. The ads, which look like a text-message-gone-wrong, juxtapose common mobile-friendly quips with provocative political/social statements, inviting the reader to [what else?] “say much more.”

The Genius approves! Yes, folks, for a change, Madison Ave has produced something compelling, emotive, personal, meaningful, and simple—all wrapped into one neat little package. See it and weep!

Incidentally, the creative for this campaign was done by SS+K, who get double points for their cleverosity (Geniuses can make up words whenever they wish! So, zip it!) because of this: a guerrilla marketing effort that marries the use of their product with an entertaining spin on some controversial/sensitive social issues.

Here’s the 411:

As part of the campaign, Credo is producing political street theater in select cities using projected cartoon images on the sides of buildings drawn by political satirist Tom Tomorrow. Images of people such as George W. Bush and Dick Cheney are shown next to blank dialogue boxes. Passersby can use their mobile phones to text in what they think the characters should say and then the words appear as part of the images.

“The concept of [the projection] was about how the Credo phone is not an everyday tool but a tool for change. In launch areas we wanted to target social media, beyond the everyday voice,” said Alice Ann Wilson, design director, SS+K. “This is voice that contributes to larger issues. The text projection creates a sense of community where everyone can use their phone to actively engage in the brand.”

Love it!!! I may be an acrid-tongued genius, but I’m also a sucker for really good creative. Particularly when it’s inspiring, clever, and… uh… reflects my personal values. If that makes me a “conscious consumer,” so be it. Consciousness is one [and perhaps the only] trend this genius is willing to yield to.