The 47th Precinct

(( another lengthy, non-design specific post… while I wait for the call of lost luggage.. ))

I see a flurry of these every year when I visit family in Ohio, and was recently reminded of them as I saw them every 20 miles along the highway in Utah:

So I finally remembered to look up the Foundation for a Better Life. The website itself has some interesting ways for you to explore their billboards and ad spots, as well as share your own stories and send these messages around. The consistent thread that I see in the billboards is an expression of values and an encouragement of accountability and performance — a hopeful idea, regardless of the fact that the project is privately funded by a single donor who prefers to remain anonymous (and who has been identified with a bit of searching as a billionaire Denver businessman, ranked by Forbes as #31 in the US, with some conservative leanings).

I like some of the billboards (although I am less impressed by a billboard representing Shrek as I am by one of Lincoln), I like optimistic messages, and I like lessons of personal competencies. Should I like the campaign less because I don’t know where the message is coming from, if there is a hidden agenda or purpose? It will certainly sour on me when I see a conservative pundit raise a campaign image from his soapbox and shout “Pass it on!” Hopefully, these are understated enough to not be used as a slogan — maybe that is essentially what is un-evil about them, the messages so simply apply to a general feeling as opposed to specifically targetting any one issue, character, person, etc.

The Foundation for a Better Life also has a sister organization: The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation. I haven’t read through their site and mission, but they better not be trumping my ideas/motivations behind the forthcoming happyandoptimistic.org!

This entry was posted Wednesday, February 28th, 2007 at 10:19 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.