February 29, 2004
Appeal push focuses on ‘the greater good’

An elderly woman puts an envelope in the basket the usher extends to her, and a ray of light illuminates her hand. The ray of light grows, lighting up the whole church, then the neighborhood, falling on the faces of Catholic school students, a man at a cemetery, a priest greeting a firefighter.

The commercial closes with the words, “Contributing to the greater good.”

The television public service announcement, scheduled to begin airing on Chicago-based stations by the end of February, is the archdiocese’s first foray into the world of secular advertising for its Annual Catholic Appeal. The appeal raises money every year for a variety of archdiocesan-wide needs, from grants to poor parishes and schools to prison, airport and Respect Life ministries. For more on the appeal, see story, Page 23.

Chicago-based advertising agency ESW Partners created it—along with companion radio and print pieces—with the help of a long list of Chicago and New York freelancers and companies, all completely pro bono.

Another agency, Rain Communications, generated a series of pamphlets and other print materials to promote the appeal among pastors.

ESW managing partner Bob Welke spearheaded the public service announcement project, and he discussed it with staff writer Michelle Martin.

 

The Catholic New World: Why is this project something you wanted to do?

Bob Welke: There is an uplifting answer and there is a relatively cynical answer. The uplifting answer is that we honestly and sincerely believe it’s a very good cause. We’ve had people really of all faiths working on this. I think a lot of the people who took a shot at this realize that the structure for a lot of what is done right in our society is left to and happens because of organizations like the Catholic Church: schools, housing, counseling. We need to look beyond some of things that might have been more publicized, and say, “Hey, we need these things to continue and grow.” Everybody responded positively to that. The folks who pitched in here recognized what turned out to be the greater good.

The cynical answer is, quite frankly, when given an opportunity to do something of the caliber of this work, it’s nothing but good for what our company is all about. I will proudly show this commercial to anyone and say that’s the kind of work we like to do.

 

TCNW: What is the challenge about this job?

BW: I don’t know if you can narrow it down to one thing. Clearly, right now, with the economy the way it is and things the way they are, asking people to come up with money is a difficult thing. … It’s difficult (for not-for-profits) to go to corporations and ask for funding every year. It’s even worse for the average working guy who goes to church on Sunday and who’s asked to ante for things that might not touch him directly, but nevertheless are incredibly important to our society. Communicating what this Annual Catholic Appeal stands for was probably the single most challenging task that we had to face.

 

TCNW: Are you Catholic? Did your experience of church play into your decision to pursue this?

BW: I am. I don’t think it influenced me toward or against this project. I looked at it as almost non-sectarian, in that the things that this appeal does are so far-reaching in our society that on the one hand, you want to say, “We’re doing this because we believe in the Catholic Church and that’s right and proper and true,” and on the other hand, you want to say, “I don’t care who’s doing this. This needs to be done.”

 

TCNW: This is a kind of departure for the archdiocese. Why is it important for a religious institution to use advertising?

BW: It’s no secret that our relationships with institutions have fundamentally changed over the last 30, 40, 50 years. Some of us believe in things, but we don’t necessarily actively participate. Others actively participate, but they get their information from different sources. Right now, the Catholic Church is represented in the media in a certain way, good, bad or indifferent. Of late, there’s been a lot of bad news. It seems to us to be critically important to be represented in the media, on the same television and radio stations, with a very, very positive message of what we’re doing, something that anyone would be hard pressed to take issue with. When you are commented on and observed, if not attacked, in certain media outlets, but your positive message is confined to a very small audience in a very small-fashioned way, you can see where you’re going to lose. If on the other hand, you take a very pro-active, positive approach in mass media, in more contemporary ways, then it seems to me that you’re going to go a lot farther.

 

TCNW: When you approached people for help, what kind of response did you get?

BW: We got a really, really good response, and that was another reason we took on the project and it was part of the fun. I used to be the chief creative officer at Leo Burnett, so I know a lot of the talent in this town, and it was a chance to reconnect with some of them. We decided that rather than confine this to our own staff that we’d invite in some people whose work we respect and whom we enjoy working with. … It was big networking project to the Chicago community, and even to New York, and that was one of the challenges with this project.

 

TCNW: Is building ties with people also one of the benefits?

BW: Absolutely. And we get a great piece of creative to put on our reel, and they get a great piece of creative to put on their reels. They also get to work on a project where they get a great deal of latitude to show what they can do. The publicity is good for all parties concerned. That’s why they want to participate. But let’s not lose track … They think it’s a good and worthy cause.

 

TCNW: What happens next?

BW: Bob Ebell and Melissa Berenstein are out canvassing radio and TV stations and newspapers in the Chicago area, going in person to present this work to editors and general managers and saying we really, really, really would like you to give us time and space for this campaign. That’s going to take about two weeks for them to hit everybody. Then we’ll go to our own industry trade press and tell them the story as well. We’re going to spend a lot of time and effort making sure we shake some hands and pat some backs and put this work into the hands of people who hopefully will step up and donate their time and space to us. The important thing for people who read this article is that all the people in the credits are great folks, and ESW is a great ad agency, but when they see the advertising, know that station or that newspaper is donating that time and space and supporting this cause. They are worthy of thanks as well, because if it doesn’t get seen, it doesn’t do any good.

INTERVIEW Archive