• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, August 25, 2008

With an abundance of superhero-themed movies out this summer, from "IronMan," "The Dark Knight," "The Incredible Hulk" and "Hellboy II," The United Way of Chicago launched a campaign to encourage volunteering by comparing the experience to having superhero-like qualities.

Creative consists of posters, street teams, stickers, radio and in-theatre ads that take on a comic book feel, a medium selected by The United Way for its universal appeal to people of all ages and races.

"Defend the world without catching your cape in the bus door" reads the top of one ad. Two bubble quotes further down in the ad state: "Live United." and "Live like a superhero. Volunteer." Another ad gets comical with its copy, saying, "Save humanity, without the whole double life thing." The United Way of Chicago's URL is found at the bottom of each ad and the company logo is cleverly featured in each element. I like how the United Way logo replaces the bat symbol as the calling card for a superhero.

Street teams roamed the streets of Chicago dressed as superheroes while others posed with superhero cardboard cut-outs, raising awareness for volunteering and emphasizing that one person can make a difference to the greater good.

Ads are also running in movie theatres, on donated media space from Screenvision and NCN.

Energy BBDO created the campaign.