Kindness In The Wild by SocialDeviant

To prove its long-held belief that everyone has an instinct for kindness, SocialDeviant is about to go on a “wilding” spree in downtown Chicago, purposefully spreading and inspiring good deeds as part of Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) Week, which runs 16-23 Feb.

The Chicago-based ad agency’s 'Kindness In The Wild' campaign will be anchored around a special mural being painted by local artist Emmy Star Brown. Her work will temporarily be installed in the lobby of the James R. Thompson Center, a high-traffic building which thousands of people pass through each day.

The mural itself will initially be covered with hundreds of specially created Random Acts of Kindness Post-its. Each will address the power of kindness on one side and spell out a specific good deed on the other, ranging from holding a door open for others, buying a coffee for the person in line behind you, beaming a warm smile to a stranger, making someone’s day with a kind text or e-mail “just because,” leaving a fat tip that will make your server’s day, and many more.

As the Post-its are removed, the uplifting message Brown has painted on the mural will be revealed. The entire activation will be captured via a time-lapse video to be released via SocialDeviant’s social channels. After RAK week 2020 ends, the mural will be donated to a local Chicago school, where its inspiring words will continue to convey the importance of kindness for years to come.

SOCIALDEVIANT is also setting up an Instagram page under the handle @yourkindnesscounts. As people carry out the Random Act of Kindness on the Post-it, they will be encouraged to share their good deeds with the world by posting a picture of the card and/or kindness in action.

A SocialDeviant team will be at the Thompson Center each day through 21 Feb. to oversee the effort, while agency colleagues extend the “wilding” campaign to the streets of Chicago, sticking the Post-its on walls and public transportation and handing them out to the public. In total, 5,000 Random Acts of Kindness cards will be spread around the city.

Each February for the past eight years, SocialDeviant has celebrated its anniversary by supporting Random Acts of Kindness Week, actively encouraging its entire staff to give back to the community. This has included paying it forward at local coffee shops, schools and senior residences, in addition to volunteering to pack food at the Greater Chicago Food Depository.