'Bathtub Creative' Launches to Provide Support and Raise Donations for Ukrainians in Need

As people across the US prepare for a holiday season of celebration, time off from work, and gatherings with family and friends, Cincinnati advertising agency Curiosity has launched Bathtub Creative, an initiative it hopes will strike an emotional chord with creative industry workers and encourage donations to help support Ukrainians in their daily fight for freedom.  

Developed in partnership with PR Army, the non-profit organisation of 400+ Ukrainian PR leaders (formed within the first hours of Russia’s full-scale invasion of their country) whose goal is to share the truth about the war in Ukraine with the global community of journalists, governments and influential opinion leaders, Bathtub Creative sheds light on the working conditions Ukrainians across multiple creative industries (advertising, tech, PR, etc.) endure on the daily to keep safe and remain productive as air raids and bombings to ravage their cities and homes.

For the majority of those Ukrainians, that workplace is the bathtub.

In the weeks leading up to the holidays, Curiosity and the PR Army are driving people to Bathtub Creative, a fake 'bathtub-based creative agency' website where, once being scrolled through, reveals itself as a lens into the harsh reality of war-torn Ukrainian work life. Being promoted across social media in Europe and the US through LinkedIn and Instagram, the site is home to some of the real faces and true stories of Ukrainian workers who ideate, create, manage, and execute from the confines of their bathtubs - or other windowless confined spaces like laundry rooms or closets. Through its narrative, Bathtub Creative encourages people to stand in solidarity and show their support by either purchasing a Ukraine-inspired bar of soap - the perfect stocking stuffer - or making a direct monetary donation. 

One hundred percent of the sales/donations go to the MacPaw Foundation, a Kyiv-based non-profit organisation currently dedicated to helping save the lives of Ukrainian protectors and providing relief to Ukrainian civilians. All donations to the MacPaw Foundation will go toward providing necessary hygiene products, including soap, toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant and toilet paper, to Ukrainian soldiers and civilians in need. 

To further drive awareness, Curiosity and PR Army are challenging workers throughout the US and Europe to sit in solidarity with Ukraine by working from their bathtubs for one entire workday on December 20th. Participants will be asked to post a video or picture capturing their experience to Instagram, using the hashtag #WorkFromTubDay. For every post, 'Bathtub Creative' will make a donation to the MacPaw Foundation.

The idea for Bathtub Creative spawned from a chance meeting between Ashley Walters, partner and chief development officer at Curiosity and Julia Petryk, co-founder of PR Army and head of PR for MacPaw, at this year’s Cannes Lions Festival. The two began talking outside an event - Ashley about running an independent creative agency in Cincinnati, and Julia about her life as a PR specialist in Ukraine. Julia spoke about the necessity of keeping busy with work to mentally escape the struggles of daily life during the Russian invasion, and how she, like so many others across so many industries in Ukraine, are forced to work from the safety of their bathrooms during active and constant attacks. They remained in close contact following Cannes, Ashley from the safety of her home and office in Ohio, and Julia from Kyiv, oftentimes speaking from inside bomb shelters, or her own bathtub.

When Curiosity came up with the idea to launch Bathtub Creative as a holiday-driven initiative, they spent the next two months partnering with Julia and her tireless PR Army crew - through blackouts, air raids, droughts and tears - to make it a hopeful reality.

“The Russian invasion to Ukraine turned my life in Kyiv from the one I liked a lot (with a beloved job, family gatherings, friends, books and travels) into completely new reality: with bomb shelters, volunteering, constant fear for my family and friends, war news and work from a bathroom during air raid sirens,” said Julia. “Ukrainians show unbelievable resistance while living, working and studying during these tough times for our country. Because of the recent attacks on our infrastructure, Ukrainians need to adapt to blackouts now. However, even under such harsh circumstances, we know that our freedom is worth it. I appreciate this opportunity to join forces with an extremely talented team from Curiosity and Ukrainian PR Army to gather funds for MacPaw Foundation and help more people suffering from war in Ukraine.” 

“When I first asked Julia what I could do to help, she simply said, ‘don’t forget us.’ For the weeks that followed, that stuck with me,” said Ashley. “In many ways, Bathtub Creative is our way of reigniting the conversation about the war and the people living through it. People just like us. Art directors, copywriters and account managers working from the safest place they can find – usually the bathroom.”