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

“Donate the bars” is more than new media and a new form of donation. It embraces a common habit by the users and turns it into a way of spreading good causes in an easy way, inspiring even more people to join in and making a difference in the world. And it does so by using space that, until now, was wasted: the black bars around vertical videos.

Most videos that have these two black bars were not uploaded by big YouTube channels and creators, but by common users. These users, who generate content, were the ones we needed to engage in this campaign, without having a paid media budget. We did so by showing that everybody, from YouTube celebrities to people with just a few followers, could help a cause in an easy, quick and costless way. And each video with donated bars made its audience aware of the project, encouraging more people to join in

Most NGOs that are a part of the Atados hub can’t afford space in the media for their charities. We had to find new ways to get the attention they deserve, to connect them with audiences that consume digital content on a daily basis, and raise awareness of their causes.