The holiday season is a particularly difficult and painful time for working people living just above the poverty line. As part of an ongoing campaign about health, education and economic opportunity, the The United Way of the National Capital Area asked us to create messaging that would cut through the holiday clutter. So we decided to turn a holiday marketing trope on its head by redefining the meaning of "This Season’s Must-Haves.” Instead of referring to jewelry or electronics, our campaign showed life’s real must-haves, like fresh vegetables or warm socks, to change the way people thought about shopping wish lists and motivate them to donate.