Cold As Ice: The Corruption of Viral Charity Drives

The viral sensation 'Ice Bucket challenge' has raised almost $100 million for the ALS foundation, who work to support families affected by ALS, or Motor Neuron Disease, and find a cure. And that's good. It has raised awareness of the disease, which is also good. And every day, more and more people are using the opportunity to share stories of their experiences and get money into the hand of people who can help with this disease and others, which is excellent.

But then, there are always ways in which this kind of viral charity marketing can go sour. In the case of the Ice Bucket Challenge, some of this has gotten right up my piss pipes.

This is why we can't have nice things.

Like it or not, these kinds of videos are spreading awareness about fatal diseases and generating huge fundraising amounts. Here's how the effective methods of charity fundraising are being twisted.


1. Using Videos For Ad Revenue

Some Ice Bucket videos have been meticulously worked on to be entertaining, or feature high profile celebrities taking on the task. These kinds of videos are ultimately highly shareable. That's where these dickheads come in

Read As: A Hive Of Scum And Villainy

The Lad Bible are not above stealing content in order to gain views and ultimately make money from ad revenue. Only last month, they stole content from YouTube comedy gaming channel VideoGamer.com and their video 'Geordie Theft Auto'. The original video is sitting at around 100,000 views, whereas the audience for the Lad Bible sits at over 3 million, with an average post getting shared around 1000 times, which does not count the shares it gets via it's own website, which could be anywhere into the tens of thousands of shares, which again, does not equal the total view count, which will be far, far higher. And for what purpose?

Banter. Banter and sweet, sweet cash.

Leaving aside the issue that sites like Cunt Bible Lad Bible are robbing bastards when it comes to content and make about as much original content as a standard cunt X Factor contestant, the fact of the matter is that the site will use this content to boost their own viewing figures and bank balance.

Including material meant to raise money for charity. Talk about low.

EDIT: Since writing this article, it has come to my attention that Lad Bible did indeed participate in the Ice Bucket Challenge themselves, have donated and included clear directions on how to donate to the cause. Which is nice, I suppose. It's very rare you catch Darth Vader handing out cupcakes for cancer research, but stranger things can happen apparently. Regardless, the site still continue to host advertisements alongside Ice Bucket videos that they did not create and have not commented on whether the money gained from these posts will be donated as well.


2. The Act Goes Viral, Not The Cause

Maybe we're just thick here in the UK. Maybe I am wrong about our seemingly screwed-on nation, famed for its wit and intelligence. Because apparently, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, made by the ALS Association, to help people with ALS wasn't clear enough with who the challenge is for (Hint: It's for people who suffer from ALS), because over half of the British people polled by The Independent did not donate to the cause, or even know it was for charity.

"Fifty-six per cent of those who did participate said they did not donate afterwards, while over a third of respondents said they did the challenge just to gain attention on social media. A further one in ten claimed to have done an ice bucket challenge because they felt pressured into doing so after receiving a nomination. Only sixteen per cent said they donated between £1 and £3 to an ALS charity after completing the challenge, while three per cent said they donated £10 or more." Source: The Independent

It just goes to show that people are really only interested in the amount of likes they can accumulate, or making their friends do something stupid. It's apparently not about opening a discussion or helping those in need once something goes viral enough.

"Another 100 likes and I'll do this with Hydrochloric Acid. Make me famous, guys!"

A viral sensation nowadays is often little more than a cry for attention. It's why in about another weeks time, your news feed will be cluttered with people taking pictures of themselves shitting in McDonald's doorways to promote bowel cancer, or more likely just to have those fifteen minutes of fame. It's pretty saddening.


3. Marketing Departments Eat This Shit Up

A vaguely positive message makes people across the globe band together and discuss something? Then give money to that thing? And hardly any work was done? This is basically a marketing departments wet dream. It might also explain why this exists.




Always capitalised on the hashtagging motivational message movement with this tripe above. Hey guys! Look at us! We made this stripped down, totally not staged but clearly staged, product placem-- Err, I mean inspirational message video! And people don't seem to see that this kind of exploitation, this kind of high profile fakery could be in any way toxic?

Because you should totally trust a company who are, at the end of the day, trying to sell you sanitary towels, because they recognise that you're a strong woman... who will inevitably share this message with all their friends, direct eyes toward Always as a company and drive sales up. Yeah.

It's not even subtle. This is not even trying to hide between a veil of looking like a guerilla video shot to explore a public reaction to the phrase 'Like A Girl'. It's glossy, it's loud and proudly shows you that it's Always who are the ones who understand. Not people. Not foundations for supporting people. But big, faceless, profit driven corporations.

Now imagine what these soulless pricks could to with Ice Bucket challenge levels of attention and money. It's frightening.


4. The Viral Hit Is Now The Go To Method

Because this method has been so successful for charities like Cancer Research UK in the past, it is now the only way the charities think they are ever going to raise any money. Look at this for example.

Taken from the Parkinsons UK Home page

Speaking personally, Parkinsons is an issue that affects my life. And there is part of me that would love for the Pie For Parkinsons fad to take off like the Ice Bucket Challenge did, because the money generated would do wonders for those currently suffering from it, affect the lives of the thousands of families that deal with this disease every day and get people talking about and understanding the challenges this disease gives its sufferers.

But this kind of method will eventually lose steam, and I worry that rather than trying to ahead of the curb with raising awareness, major charities are now just trying to replicate the success of the IBC with similar hashtagged shareable challenges and slogans. It would pain me to see so much money going into generating a campaign like this, only to see it crash and burn and valuable money wasted where it could have gone into research or public education on the matters.


It's Not All Doom And Gloom: No Make-Up Selfies

Thing is, sometimes something wonderful happens. The No Make-Up Selfies were surprisingly not started by Cancer Research UK and were actually a product of an anarchic rebellion against the initial few selfies.

I shit you not, we, as a group of humans, raised over £8 Million in six days for cancer research just to out-dickhead people who were taking pictures of themselves.

FUCK YOU, SHANICE! I'LL SHOW YOU WHOSE A BETTER PERSON TO THE COMMUNITY!

This rebellion became pride, became education and became donation. This kind of incredible violently charitable turnaround was unprecedented, unexpected and unplanned, but changed so much we understand about cancer, how to donate to charity and how research can be helped by even the most vapid of online activities.




With that said, don't be vapid. Make your videos, take your selfies, shit in as many doorways as you feel necessary. Just remember to open discussion or donate to charities. Because you can reclaim this social activity for altruism.

Donate, you bastards.