Hasta La Creative!

Planning to dress up in fake ebola hazmat gear for Halloween? That’s awfully douchey, don’t you think?

Nonprofit humanitarian group Doctors of the World has an idea, though. Why not join the “More Than a Costume” campaign and help pay for real protective equipment used by medical professionals battling ebola in West Africa?

“Health workers needs a new hazmat suit for each of their rotations, and estimates indicate that over 1 million suits will be needed in the next six weeks,” says the organization.

For $1 you can donate a glove, and $5 buys a mask. You can donate a hazmat suit for $250, and throw in a helmet for $500. (Or text EBOLA to 501501 to donate $10. C’mon, you’ll spend more than that on Halloween candy.)

The initiative was developed with Publicis Kaplan Thaler, which is running pro-bono print and digital ads this week in The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and elsewhere. “Here it’s a costume. There it saves lives,” says one headline.

Props for leveraging the ebola costume craze in such life-affirming fashion. They’ve created a program that lets people contribute to the greater good, even those who plan to clomp around in bogus boots and breathe through phony filters on Halloween.

See the full ad below.