Nelson Mandela Foundation 'letter bomb' direct mail case study

The Nelson Mandela Foundation harnessed mail's ability to engage the senses when it created a mailshot which popped like a Christmas cracker on opening. 

The letter was intended to remind recipients of South Africa’s brutal past, when apartheid security forces would send letter bombs to activists.

Inside was a photograph of anti-apartheid activist, Ruth First, one of those killed by a letter bomb. The letter urged the reader to keep alive the ideals of Nelson Mandela and his contemporaries such as Ruth by pledging their financial support to the NMF.

Download the full case study for an editor’s comment, results and images of the campaign.