Fair deal

By Lauren Bartlett, May 17, 2007 @ 3 pm

A new pitch for a worthy cause

Fair trade might be a worthy cause but that’s not the greatest sales pitch. Many fair-trade companies are using bold new marketing such as this campaign from Auckland company Lighthouse Ventures, which has taken a new tack with a savvy new brand image for trans-Tasman fair-trade vendor Scarborough Fair.

Their ‘Message with a Middle Finger’ campaign, developed by Caroline Warwick, draws on fair-trade marketing already seen in the United Kingdom, where supermarket chain Sainsbury’s committed to sell only fair-trade bananas, prompting Waitrose to switch to the fair-trade flavour of the fruit just one week later.

Lighthouse Ventures and AUT University worked together create an advertising concept to capture a globally-aware target market. The brief was presented to advertising students, inviting them to come up with concepts that challenged the traditional message for fair trade advertising. After a presentation by 12 creative teams the company chose a satirical campaign by Jenna Wee and Sarah Gooding, featuring a demure housewife, to be used in a viral campaign with a focus on Fairtrade Fortnight from April 28 to May 13. Says Warwick: “This creative allows Scarborough Fair to take fair-trade advertising in a new, modern direction, positioning the brand as a leading fair-trade rebel with a cause.”