I Imagine Studio/Evanston and Rotary International have teamed to give people around the world a chance to help kick polio out of Africa. To support Rotary's campaign to eradicate the disease, I Imagine has created an interactive, strategic, viral communications initiative that will allow anyone to sign a symbolic virtual soccer ball online. At www.kickpoliooutofafrica.org, visitors can learn more about Rotary's polio eradication efforts in Africa, make a donation, autograph the digital ball and then see their signatures and comments alongside those of world leaders.
Rotary's "Kick Polio Out of Africa" program was launched earlier this year in Cape Town, South Africa, one of the host cities for the 2010 World Cup. The effort began with the kicking of a real soccer ball that was signed by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, a polio survivor. That ball, which has since travelled to 22 polio-affected countries in Africa, has been signed by numerous African heads of state. The ball's tour ends of Alexandria, Egypt, and will eventually return to South Africa where it will be the centerpiece of a special World Cup event. I Imagine's online campaign was designed to mirror the tour the special soccer ball is making through Africa.
Lewis Lazare has written the Media Mix column for the Chicago Sun-Times for the past seven and a half years.
