By now, you should have received your 2010 census in the mail. Did you know it was coming? Are you feeling compelled to fill it out and send it back in? Did you watch all of the ads, witness the media blitz, and post the “you are going to get your census soon” mailer on your refrigerator with cute little magnets in anticipation? Or did the massive campaign not work, and you feel like the census is an invasion of your privacy? That the information will be used against you? That you’d rather the Government not know you exist.

The effort behind the 2010 census was the most expensive ever. How expensive? Roughly $14.5 Billion…That’s $46.93 per person…and still counting. The 2010 census will cost more than the last 200 years of census efforts combined.

Now, before a rant begins, understand that a marketing campaign from the Federal Government with a target audience of “everyone in the United States” would be a daunting assignment for any creative firm. It would take some money, and just a little creative thinking. When you consider the cynicism towards our government at the moment, the language barriers, the cultural pockets scattered around our great country…it’s…well…impossible to get 100% response rate from a direct mailer. Now, a $5000 fine for a failure to reply helps a lot (wish I could do that for my clients), but it still isn’t enough.

The first hint of a massive campaign hit millions of American’s radars during the Superbowl. A $2.5 Million media buy, for what was a lack-luster ad. And as it turns out, the money spent on the Superbowl spot, was just the tip of the money about to be spent:

Between bad ideas for media buys, longs spots that you probably never saw, and millions spent on a mailer that was a massive waste of dollars and trees, this particular firm frowns on this campaign.

So you might be asking, “Sure you do. But could you do better?”

Half that budget with a third up-front, and my fellow citizen, I’ll promise you…you’ll be checking your mailbox like a kid waiting for a check from Grandma.

Here’s the premise of a new PSA campaign (below) that’s targeted at the Latino market called “Be Counted, Represent”: Wilmer Valderrama, Rosario Dawson, veteran character actor Luis Guzman, Jorge Garcia from Lost and many others star as house party-goers who wind up getting in a heated debate about whether or not to take part in the Census.

Compelling? Hmmm…