Ads call for halt to tsunami appeal aid
Following the overwhelming response to the Asian tsunami appeal, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is being forced to launch a series of press ads to ask people to stop sending money.
The ads, created by Ogilvy & Mather, will announce that the fund is closing on February 26 and will thank the British public for their generosity in the aftermath of the disaster. The copy will say: “Thank you thank you thank you for your generosity… our fundraising appeal will close on February 26, so please try to bank all outstanding donations by then.”
The DEC, an umbrella organisation comprising 12 major British charities, has collected more than &£250m since the wave struck on December 26. Other donations have been made directly to the charities themselves.
Most charities raising money for the disaster victims have now stopped asking for donations, and many are thought to be considering asking the public whether they could divert some of the money to other causes.
However, the DEC ad stresses that member charities will not redirect any contributions away from the tsunami relief effort.
“We are publicly winding down the appeal,” says Richard Bunting of the DEC. “We can spend the money that’s come in and we are working to make sure it is spent wisely and well.”
