The media often seems to be full of global health pioneers, environmental activists and kindness crusaders, saintly individuals making a real difference to the world. It leaves mere mortals wondering why they should even bother to try. But not being a paragon of perfection shouldn’t stop people from trying to do good, and a relatable campaign from DUDE London for the Yes Foundation reminds people that goodish people are welcome to apply for a grant to do so.
The YES Foundation is a Polish organisation backed by inclusive jewellery brand, YES, that supports and empowers women in communities across Poland through funding local initiatives. Its campaign, Good People, is inspired by a common misconception holding people back from enacting change: imposter syndrome, aka the assumption that if they’re not perfect themselves, they’re not the right person for the job.
The campaign aims to eradicate this imposter syndrome, which is especially prevalent in volunteering, and encourage more meaningful and impactful applications to the Foundation, by embracing people’s imperfections and redefining what it means to be ‘good’.
Good People is led by a film, directed by Mateusz Miszczyński through Papaya Films, whose human humour captures everyday people doing occasional ‘bad’ things, while reaffirming that they are still capable of doing good. The message is underlined by a soundtrack by LA indie band Gustaf’s Best Behaviour, and the 60-second film goes on to hero some of the Foundation’s real-life contributors and their relatable confessions, including Matgorzata, who supports women in prison but accidentally killed her goldfish and Klara, who helps disabled women with beauty therapy, yet constantly steals her friends’ lighters.
“Our foundation is all about positive vibes, and we’re here to spread that energy and inspire others to take action,” stated Justyna Lach, director of the YES Foundation. “No one’s perfect, but every one of us can do something amazing and help us build a better world for women.’
“I wanted this film to feel honest and relatable, which is why we leaned into the imperfections — both in the characters we portray and the way we captured them. We used real, everyday locations and avoided overly polished visuals, because real life is rarely perfect. It’s messy, funny, and flawed, but that’s what makes it human. That’s also why we chose to shoot on analog film — it adds a layer of authenticity and unpredictability that perfectly matches the campaign’s message,” noted Mateusz Miszczyński.
Alex Prew, creative copywriter, DUDE, added, “Even good people aren’t good 100% of the time. Good people scam the supermarket self-checkout. Good people steal pint glasses from pubs. We wanted to paint the most inclusive picture of a good person, to make everyone feel like they can make a change in their community.”
The film will run across YES’ YouTube, Instagram and Facebook channels.
