One out of every six videos posted on YouTube has black bars on both sides. That happens because, when YouTube users post a video that does not conform to their ratio standards, mostly filmed with smartphones, the platform sandwiches the video between two black bars. “Donate the Bars” leverages these unused spaces by transforming them into ad opportunities for NGOs. They became free digital billboards.

We designed a platform that could be used on either mobile devices or desktops, where users could upload their own vertically-filmed videos, choose one of the NGOs that joined the project, convert them into the horizontal format, and upload them to the user's YouTube channel with a message for a good cause in the black bars. The website was launched in three different languages (English, Portuguese and Spanish) and features an area for NGOs that want to join in and use this new platform to raise awareness of their causes.

615.000+ DONATED HOURS / 12.300.000 IMPRESSIONS / R$ 1.200.000,00 IN EARNED MEDIA / 50+ NGOs IN THE PROJECT