When Christmas Came To The Jungle

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Fi83BHQsMA

     I first watched this Ted Talk during the holidays, and what an appropriate time of the year it was to witness this. For those of you who couldn’t spare the 14 minutes, ad executive Jose Miguel Sokoloff shared his remarkable experience with taking on the difficult task of demobilizing a long-standing guerrilla movement in Colombia known as F.A.R.C. (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia).

They’ve been inciting violence in Colombia for over 50 years, and lots of unnecessary blood has been spilled. Sokoloff and his agency were approached by the agency to implement a communication strategy to get as many guerrillas out of the jungle as possible.

As someone getting ready to enter this industry, it was inspiring to see the power of advertising in motion for something so impactful on a social and national scale as opposed to selling a pair of shoes. Watching Sokoloff implement the spirit of Christmas by decorating specific trees with these lights in an attempt to reach past the guerrilla and catch the person underneath is truly an inspiring feat not only in creativity, but in a humanistic way as well. Taking it a step further with the boats filled with notes and gifts from loved ones required a lot of insight as well, but to me, my favorite execution involved the use of childhood photos from mothers. Being a momma’s boy, that would have brought me back in an instant.

The process was every bit as inspiring to learn about as it was to see their executions. Going from using former members of F.A.R.C. to reach out to current members was a sound strategy on its own, but eventually reaching the insight of using the holidays and other unifying events such as the World Cup to tap into the humanity of these soldiers was an amazing process to watch. Starting with one thought and ending with something entirely deeper is one of the most exciting aspects of this industry. It never ceases to amaze me how members of this industry are able to dig through what are believed to be commonly held notions about society and discover the unexpected insight that guides our actions.

Advertising is a powerful tool, and there is no question that it has impacted us as negatively as it has positively, but if I ever needed a justification to be a part of this industry, this is it.