Why do we do it?
What's this urge in nonprofits to create really stupid ads? I have some theories, which I'll share later. Of course, my theories are probably about as useful as the ads themselves.
But first, let's enjoy a look at the latest round of stupid nonprofit tricks:
This is for Vitae, a homeless organization in Portugal (the apparently incorrect grammar isn't in the original; it's just a poor translation). It appears on the inside of garbage can lids. As if you've interrupted this scruffy guy while he's rooting through the garbage.
That's it. No call to action. Just a weird moment that more likely than not reminds you that the homeless sometimes make you feel uncomfortable. They must assume that the brief shock someone gets from this catalyzes all their pre-existing inner guilt, which leads them to write down the name of the organization, seek them out, and give some money.
This one is for Actionaid India. It's as if the reader hadn't noticed there are people living on the streets. The ad-industry jargon is the real kicker, though: Did you know that normal people don't call billboards "outdoor advertising"? The pun is lost on them. Not that a pun would motivate behavior in the first place ...
At least this one has something that almost resembles a call to action: "Support homeless people" and a URL. I bet uncounted hoards of people surfed right over and supported like crazy.
Nonprofits and bad marketing: It seems to go deeper than simple incompetence. My theories:
- They're aspiring to be like "real" advertising, which often relies on mind puzzles and cleverness to get attention in lieu of actually thinking through people's inner motivations -- and eschews concrete calls to action. Of course, it doesn't work in advertising either.
- They're trying to win awards, not actually motivate positive behavior. (More on this sore subject at Why advertising is so bad.)
- It's the work of ad people doing pro bono work for nonprofits. These folks seem to view nonprofit marketing as a rule-free playground where they can do any old thing. (Often, interns and/or people on performance probation get these assignments as a way of building or redeeming their portfolios.)
- It's nonprofit self-loathing. They hate to admit that they need help from others, so instead of asking, they twist their messages into pretzel-shapes in hopes that people will think about their issue and spontaneously start giving.
If you're interested in the stupid nonprofit advertising genre check out these posts:
Thanks to Adrants for finding these.
Technorati Tags: advertising, fundraising, bad ads
Those are great...thanks for sharing, they made me laugh!
Posted by: Chelle | 11 March 2008 at 16:54
Vitae one is not the worst of the lot that I have seen! :)
-Greg
I blog @ http://coolest-ads.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Greg | 02 February 2008 at 22:00