Who to give - Alwaleed Philanthropies | Clapboard Ad Archive

Launched in Saudi Arabia by Alwaleed Philanthropies during Ramadan in 2016, Who to give was an ambitious on-ground activation from Bold agency that took direct aim at the surge in street-level begging, an urgent social issue that sees a dramatic 50% increase during the holy month. At the heart of this campaign sits the difficult cultural paradox between the innate charitable impulse heightened by Ramadan and the reality that many beggars are exploiting this goodwill as pretenders, complicating the act of giving with unintended social, economic, and even security consequences. Alwaleed Philanthropies, a longstanding force in the market category of public service, tasked Bold to recalibrate this dynamic by shifting public generosity away from indiscriminate street giving toward the infrastructure of vetted philanthropic channels, aligning help with genuine need rather than opportunism. Leaning into what Clapboard’s taxonomy would classify as FORMAT#1—Demonstration, the campaign deploys a single but highly strategic outdoor asset, functioning less as passive media and more as an active provocation: it stages real-life scenarios that expose the public—right at the moment of decision—to the underlying mechanics of begging, juxtaposing the perceived virtue of spontaneous alms-giving with the impacts of more deliberate, considered donation through legitimate organizations. This tactical approach eschews dramatisation or overt narrative in favor of clear, real-world demonstration, leveraging its setting within Ramadan’s heightened social conscience to challenge entrenched habits and initiate immediate behavior change. The messaging is concise yet hard-hitting, guiding audiences toward responsible giving and providing a tangible call to action via www.whotogive.com, reinforcing both educational and participatory vectors of the campaign. By channeling public compassion into approved avenues, Who to give not only supports the Saudi government’s ongoing efforts to curtail the socioeconomic problems occasioned by begging, but also reframes philanthropy in the public consciousness as an act that should be informed and targeted rather than impulsively enacted. Clapboard rates this 63/100. As a signal to public interest advertisers, this campaign demonstrates that the most powerful outdoor work can catalyze complex social change when it not only addresses audience empathy but also channels it with precision.