Direct Mail (Less Than $10 Million): City Harvest and Good Counsel Homes

Just as we would settle on one “clear winner,” someone would hold up the other and say, “But, what about this one?”

Ultimately, we opted for a tie because the level of “same but also completely different” between these packages was just too close to call.

First, we have City Harvest’s delightful Thank You/Happy Holidays card campaign. The letter is good, solid and to-the-point. But what sends this package over the top is the artwork. You’re immediately drawn in to the package by a hand-drawn truck and some apples on the outer envelope, which is nicely odd-sized. Once inside, there’s a delightful card created by 9-year-old Jordan, depicting a City Harvest truck, a few fruits and vegetables, and a handwritten “thank you.” It’s an end-of-year appeal but forgoes any faith-specific holiday design, focusing instead on bright colors and the mission of City Harvest, which is delivering food to needy New Yorkers. This card is what kept drawing the judges back to this package over and over.