By STEVE HENSCHEL Staff Writer

If you’re going to say something and you want people to notice, getting nude might be the answer.Nudity was the answer for Niagara College’s Student Administrative Council’s (SAC) annual food drive.  

Student Administrative Council’s naked ad campaign is featured in the Canadian Organization of Campus Activities most recent publication. Submitted photo

“It was really well done,” says Tyler Hore, executive vice-president on SAC for the Welland campus. “It got us more exposure than we have ever had.” The ad campaign has garnered a lot of exposure off campus too, being featured in a number of campus publications, says Hore.

The campaign has been nominated for an award at the Canadian Organization of Campus Activities’ (COCA) annual conference, says Michael Poynton, vice-president of student affairs for the Niagara-on-the-Lake campus. In the December issue of COCA’s publication, one of the ads featuring SAC President Jacquelynn Perzul can be found on the front page.

“It [the ad campaign] is the first of its kind: someone going that big for a food drive,” says Hore. Beyond garnering recognition, the campaign was successful in its goal of increasing food donations for the food banks at both campuses. The campaign raised about 1,129 pounds of food for the Welland campus alone, says Kemar Hayles, vice-president of student affairs for the Welland campus.

Poynton says it was “a really good success; we brought in tons of food.” The idea for the ad campaign was a group effort, according to Poynton and Hayles. The idea was formulated at SAC’s transition conference in May 2009.

Poynton says he found the experience of posing naked good, at first, as long as he was alone with the photographer, but after he and the others became more comfortable, they were able to do a group shot.

“I thought it was amazing,” says Hayles, referring to posing naked for the ads. “As long as we were doing it for a good reason, it was worth it.” Hore was unable to pose in the ads since he had to work the night of the photo shoot.

“It came down to doing the ads about going hungry or actually going hungry,” says Hore.