The Brief

'Ronald McDonald House' is a facility near hospitals where children with intractable diseases can stay with their families. The campaign objective was to increase its awareness and raise more funds. With limited budget and the fact that charity is not deeply rooted in Japanese culture, our challenge was how to move people to action.

Creative Execution

Origami has high relevance to families because it is the parents who teach their children how to fold origami. On the back of each origami is an 'easy-to-tell-children' explanation about a) the Ronald McDonald House and b) to whom the finished origami cranes will be given, i.e. children possibly the same age battling diseases. So as parents teach their children how to fold the origami cranes, they can explain all about Ronald McDonald House and how it helps children who are less fortunate than themselves.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

Creative Inspiration: When 'warm heart' meets Origami Cranes Inspiration hit us when we were searching for a visible token of 'warm heart' relevant to parents and children. Origami cranes are a traditional symbol of 'healing' in Japan. There is a famous story of a girl in Hiroshima, who, having survived the after effects of the atomic bomb, folded cranes as a prayer to live longer.

Results

Happy Origami Crane Project did not just meet - it exceeded all expectations, increasing donations from McDonald's restaurants and changing attitudes and behavior towards charitable donations. Donations for Ronald McDonald House soared by 82.9% in January 2010. Growth of donations continued to show strength to date, resulting in 71.9% increase for Q12010. A total of more than 264,000 cranes were collected by this campaign, which were presented to the 6 Houses on March 2010. Donations submitted to Headquarters by month (Source: McDonald's Japan) year-on-year donation increase Jan. 182.9% Feb. 150.7% Mar. 181.1% Q1 ave. 171.9%