Many people complain about advertisements as an obnoxious way for companies to invade our everyday lives and cram their products down our throats, but that’s not all that advertisements are good for. The advertisements on this list are excellent examples of effective advertising strategies for social issue campaigns that let their voices be heard.
A well-made advertisement is designed to grab your attention and to remain in your memory long after you’ve left it behind, and that is exactly what many of these social causes need. Getting people to think and worry about various social and environmental issues (or even simply getting them to be aware of them) is important for raising public supporting and affecting meaningful changes. A few of these ads are, in fact, commercial ads, but it’s still nice that they champion socially or environmentally aware causes/products.
Just like with commercial advertisements, having just the facts is not enough. They are important, but the ad must also appeal to the observer’s emotions. Many studies have indicated that emotion can have a powerful effect on memory formation, ensuring that memories with emotion will last longer than those without.
According to “Father of Advertising” David Ogilvy, his contemporary, Howard Gossage, said that “advertising justifies its existence when used in the public interest—it is much too powerful a tool to use solely for commercial purposes.” We definitely agree, which is why we wanted to share this list of social cause advertisements with you!
1 | Torture Victims Are People Just Like You And Me
Advertising Agency: Advico Y&R, Zurich, Switzerland
2 | Stop The Violence: Don’t Drink And Drive
Advertising Agency: Terremoto Propaganda, Curitiba, Brazil
3 | Premature Ending: “If you smoke, statistically your story will end 15% before it should.”
“THE END. If you smoke, statistically your story will end 15% before it should. For help with quiting call QUITTLINE on 0200 00 22 00″ (Advertising Agency: Iris, London, UK)
4 | World Wide Fund For Nature: Frightening vs. More Frightening
Advertising Agency: DDB&CO., Istanbul, Turkey
5 | Your Skin Color Shouldn’t Dictate Your Future
Advertising Agency: Publicis Conseil, Paris, France
6 | Deforestation Continues With The Turn Of A Page
Advertising Agency: LINKSUS, Beijing, China
7 | Unhate
Advertising Agency: Fabrica, Italy
8 | Elm Grove Police Department: Slower Is Better
Advertising Agency: Cramer-Krasselt, Milwaukee, USA
9 | Save Paper – Save The Planet
Advertising Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, Copenhagen, Denmark
10 | Air Pollution Kills 60.000 People A Year
11 | Liking Isn’t Helping. Be A Volunteer. Change A Life
Advertising Agency: Publicis, Singapore
12 | Bird Conservation: If You Don’t Pick It Up They Will
Advertising Agency: TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris, Johannesburg, South Africa
13 | What We See When You Smoke
Advertising Agency: JWT, Atlanta, USA
14 | Animal Anti-Cruelty League: That’s Not A Football
Advertising Agency: Lowe Bull, Cape Town, South Africa
15 | Bangalore Traffic Police: Don’t Talk While Driving
Advertising Agency: Mudra Group, India
16 | Child Soldiers: It’s Not Happening Here, But It’s Happening Now
Creative/Art director Pius Walker, Amnesty International, Switzerland.
17 | Censorship Tells The Wrong Story
Advertising Agency: Memac Ogilvy & Mather Dubai, UAE
18 | Distracted Driving: Think Of Both Sides
Advertising Agency: Red Pepper, Ekaterinburg, Russia
19 | Every 60 Seconds a Species Dies Out. Each Minute Counts
Advertising Agency: Scholz & Friends, Berlin, Germany
20 | Innocence In Danger: Where’s The Pedophile?
Art Director: Michael Arguello, Copywriter: Bassam Tariq, Additional credits: Jason Musante
21 | Sexual Predators Can Hide In Your Child’s Smartphone
Advertising Agency: Herezie, Paris, France
22 | Smoking Causes Premature Aging
Advertising Agency: Euro RSCG Australia
23 | You’re Not A Sketch. Say No To Anorexia
Advertising Agency: Revolution Brasil
24 | Neglected Children Are Made To Feel Invisible. Stop Child Abuse Now
“To dramatize the issue of neglect, we placed mannequins dressed as children behind billposters. When the inevitable happened, we revealed a second message.” (Australian Childhood Foundation, JWT Melbourne)
25 | Global Action In The Interest of Animals: Plastic Bags Kill
Advertising Agency: BBDO Malaysia, MALAYSIA, Kuala Lumpur / Advertising Agency: Duval Guillaume, Belgium
26 | What Goes Around Comes Around. Keep The Sea Clean
Advertising Agency: JWT, Dubai, UAE
27 | Tailgating Isn’t Worth It. Give Trucks Room
Advertising Agency: Amélie Company, Denver, Colorado, USA
28 | Sea Shepherd Conservation Society: When You See A Tuna, Think Panda
Advertising Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Singapore
29 | Sleepiness Is Stronger Than You. Don’t Drive Sleepy
Advertising Agency: BBDO Bangkok, Thailand
30 | See how easy feeding the hungry can be?
Advertising Agency: TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris, Johannesburg, South Africa
31 | Causing Cancer By Yourself
Advertising Agency: Dentsu, Beijing, China
32 | Deforestation And The Air We Breathe: Before It’s Too Late
Advertising Agency: TBWA\PARIS, France
33 | For The Homeless, Every Day Is A Struggle
Advertising Agency: Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne, Australia
34 | The Prvention Beer Mug: Please Don’t Lose Control Over Your Drinking
Advertising Agency: EURORSCG Prague, Czech Republic
35 | One Child Is Holding Something That’s Been Banned In America To Protect Them. Guess Which One?
Advertising Agency: Grey, Toronto, Canada
36 | Breast Cancer Awareness Bra
Advertising Agency: Bolero, Fortaleza, Brazil
37 | UN Women: Auto-Complete Shows Perceptions Of Women
Advertising Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Dubai, UAE
38 | Don’t Buy Exotic Animal Souvenirs
Advertising Agency: LOWE GGK, Warsaw, Poland
39 | Buckle up. Stay alive
Advertising Agency: Lg2, Quebec, Canada
