Our New Target
11.12.09 | simon | 
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Due to the amazing response so far, we have decided to double our initial target to $20,000 NZD and also place a cap on this new target. We intend to raise $20,000 or very near to this amount, and we will close off donations once we have reached this target.
This will of course double the original number of ads on buses in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch! This works out to approximately 12 buses in Auckland, 8 in Wellington and 4 in Christchurch. The ads will stay on the buses for 4 weeks.
We decided this was the best way of dealing with an excess of donations, as opposed to using them for some other purpose. You all have donated to put atheist ads on buses, and that is what we will use the money for. As before, literally all donation money will be used for advertising – there are no administrative overheads. The Humanist Society of NZ has kindly offered to administrate and oversee the donation collection to ensure it conforms to financial standards.
I see at this point we are well over quarter of the way to the new target, and rapidly growing! Thank you again to all the donations. They will make a significant impact in promoting atheism, humanism and rational enquiry in NZ.
December 11th, 2009 at 11:15 am
I’d rather see the campaign run for longer, rather than double the number of buses. Or maybe some combination of both.
December 11th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Oh no, no fair. What about other cities, we’re not all in the top 3? Take the extra money and put on extra buses in other cities!
December 11th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Delighted to be involved in this campaign after witnessing its rejection in Australia by bigots. Let’s prove that New Zealand is a country open to religious discussion with a positive approach
December 11th, 2009 at 11:19 am
And yes, I gave $10 so would love to see a bus in my town too.
December 11th, 2009 at 11:32 am
What will you do with all these donations made be a cheque that come after you reach the target? Also I believe that it would be a good idea if you set an even higher target and let the campaign run for longer, or maybe include Hamilton, Palmy and Dunedin buses as well in this campaign.
December 11th, 2009 at 11:36 am
Seconding the idea that the campaign should go out to more cities.
December 11th, 2009 at 11:53 am
I have been helping Simon out with the campaign, just thought I would pitch in here (and prove that there really is a ‘we’ behind this).
I think everyone involved with the campaign would love to see it extended to more cities. However the problem with doing this is very practical – we can’t buy bus advertising outside of the main centers. At least not in an easy way. The advertising in the main centers is all sold through a company called iSite Media, on behalf of NZ Bus. Booking through them makes the campaign very easy to co-ordinate. I guess we could negotiate with bus companies in each city around NZ, but this would be pretty time consuming, and everyone involved with the campaign also has a day job.
One other option would be to move the campaign off buses and on to billboards etc – however part of the great appeal of this campaign is its simplicity. One message, one medium.
I think a potential solution is to use a small portion of the funds to print up some bumper stickers, which could then be sent out free to anyone who wanted to take the message to their own town or city. Thoughts?
December 11th, 2009 at 11:56 am
The buses here in Palmerston North have the entire back end of the bus for advertising space. I live in Palmy and have donated, I’ll donate more if there’s a chance of the No God ads on Palmy buses.
Also, I should think that the amazing response is indicative of the feeling in this country that we’re steadily getting sick and tired of people like Brian Tamaki and others who are pushing religion in our faces. How about leaving the donation amount open-ended and use the cash for advancing secular-humanism?
This is just a beginning! We as a country should be promoting secular values and ethics and rational, critical thinking every day and not allowing archaic and outright crazy fantasies such as Christianity to encroach on our day-to-day lives.
Let’s get rid of those US Evangelical TV shows in the morning as our first move!
December 11th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
@duncan
Sounds like people in other towns should take the initiative to negotiate and get a quote from their local bus company to make it easy on you
December 11th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
AdShels are a good alternative to buses.
The production costs are much lower than billboards too.
Do people still use bumper stickers? I wouldn’t stick something onto my car.
Perhaps street posters would by another option (where you usually see concerts etc advertised).
This could either be done properly through Phantom, or you could just go guerilla.
Let me know if you’d like to discuss media possibilites (I’m a media planner/buyer).
December 11th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
@Jon
Thanks for your thoughts.
Simon and I discussed at length what we could do with the ‘extra’ money. The problem we are faced with is that if we were to pick a charity to donate it to we would undoubtedly upset someone.
Everyone who has donated thus far has donated to putting ads on buses. We didn’t think it would be right to assume that they would have chosen to donate had they know it was toward ads on buses, and something else.
Given the obvious demand for us to extend it to other cities I will look into it in more detail over the weekend.
December 11th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
I for one would love a couple of No God bumper stickers for our cars. Got to be better than some of silly ones around e.g. “Magic Happens”
December 11th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Looks like your initial target of $10,000 will be met inside of 48 hours. Surely you need to revise the target up again – try $50,000.
Looks like there’s a voracious appetite for a more balanced voice against the dogmatic barrage of religious ignorance that is so readily and historically avialable in this country.
It would be great to see what Jon Pawson has suggested and get rid of those US Evangelical TV shows in the morning! But of-course – not just Christian Evangelising – I don’t want to see any religious evangelising on public media. If they want to spout off about their beliefs – let them run their own facilities/channels to do it.
December 11th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Thank you to the organisers, great to get this on the public agenda. If it is popular & it all happens again next year, can we have a Kiwi touch to it? Maybe “Stop indoctrinating our children and end the cycle of religion, 6,500 years old….Yeh Right!
December 11th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
How about using the excess donations for a billboard on the Auckland motorway in close proximity to one of Destiny Church’s ‘Super City needs a Super Church’ signs
December 11th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
[...] course we now doubled our target, so we need your help to continue spreading the message. Post on Facebook, tweet about it, get [...]
December 11th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Amen to the bumper sticker idea – I’d love one! Keep up the great work guys and thank you.
December 11th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Why half the number of buses in CHCH than welly? Christchurch is bigger than Wellington in both area and population.
December 11th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Good point Sam. There are probably 2 reasons for that:
1. When we originally started planning we were not going to be able to get the bus ad unit we wanted in Christchurch. That has since changed.
2. Most of the core group of people behind the campaign live in either Auckland or Wellington (not saying that is a good reason, but I am sure you know how these things happen)
We will definitely look at balancing up Wellington and Christchurch.
December 12th, 2009 at 12:16 am
Why not have bumper stickers made, and sell them to make money for more no god campaigns.
December 12th, 2009 at 9:45 am
I was totally going to suggest bumper stickers!
December 12th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Why buses? Surely more people will see roadside billboards.
December 13th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Yes please! Bumper stickers, and go right ahead with the athiest bus campaign… bring it on!
@Daniel, 22nd comment, I think it was because it was started in London on the buses there? Christians were advertising on them with a website that led to ‘you’re going to burn in hell ifyou don’t accept my imaginary friend’ sort of style message… hence the campaign on the buses.
Correct me if I’m wrong, someone?
Cheers
R
December 16th, 2009 at 10:25 am
We want a sustained, repeated message to be out there for a decent amount of time. That’s how to change people’s minds. So me and my mates reckon the money should be spent on having the messages out there for longer rather than more buses.