• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, March 18, 2022

As tragic as Russia's military assault on Ukraine has been these past few weeks, it is heartening to see how people around the world have unified in their opposition to Russia and their support of Ukraine, even Americans of either party.

It's also inspiring to see the innovative ideas being developed by advertising pros who are figuring out ways of using media to bypass Russia's censorship of truthful news about the war.

Not surprisingly, some of the most interesting hacks have come from the ad community closest to Ukraine -- including Slovakian agency JANDL's brilliant use of dating app Tinder to reach Russians who are otherwise blocked from getting authentic news from the outside world on the major social media and publishing platforms.

Or Kyiv-based Bickerstaff's campaign utilizing a YouTube video, Telegram channel and website to make Russian mothers aware that their sons were dying or being captured on the battlefield created by Russia's attack.

"Such creativity," the head of one of the world's largest media agencies said to me this morning about the innovation and ingenuity being brought to bear by agencies like JANDL and Bickerstaff, making me wonder what else might be going on that we're not aware of.

If you've come across any noteworthy campaigns to bypass Russia's Ukraine war blackout, or if you have any ideas for ones that might be worth executing, I'd be happy to share them with other readers. Just email me at joe@mediapost.com.