Charity tells people not to ‘contribute to death’ by giving homeless money

The Connection: hard-hitting ads to convince people not to hand homeless people money

A stark black-and-white shot of a beggar’s out-turned hands is accompanied with the words “Please don’t contribute to a person’ death”, in a hard-hitting campaign for charity The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields.

The campaign is pleading with Londoners not to give homeless people money because the charity says it will often be spent on alcohol and drugs.

The ads pull no punches in communicating their message. Another execution reads, “Give him enough money and you’ll eventually get him off the streets,” and features an image of a pair of tagged feet in a morgue.

The work spans media including posters, beermats and leaflets in shops and pubs in the Westminster area. Agency Soul has also created an app that lets people made contributions to the charity.

The Connection helps more than 200 homeless people in London every day, including providing an outreach for rough sleepers, skills training and careers advice.

Client: Beki Winters, head of outreach, The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields

Agency: Soul

Creatives: Shaun Moran, Paul Walton, Linda Cash, James Ellis

Original article published 7 August 2014 in Marketing Magazine