Social Advertising

Emotions evoke change

Social advertising (public service advertising) is the form of advertising that is designed to educate or motivate people to undertake socially desirable actions. Emotions are a basic component of advertising, and especially of social advertising. Emotions have a huge influence on perception, remembering, recall as well as change in attitudes and behavior. Emotions help people to remember the situations and messages in which they appeared, they evoke physiological changes as well as changes of perception (halo effect), reduce criticism and rational thinking abilities. Those changes have a strong impact on people and can motivate them to act, follow the suggestions expressed in advertising and deliver the promise of satisfaction.

Emotions can be divided into 2 continuums: Positive vs. Negative, Rational vs. Emotional.

Social ads use the wide range of emotions to influence our behavior. They scare us, affect us, sadden us, make us laugh or anger us. Rational arguments aren’t enough to change behavior or attitudes.

There are two types of social advertising:

1. Ads that warn us against dangerous behavior or prod us to change behavior for our own good.
2. Ads that invite us to help others.

Both forms of advertising are based on emotion. Warning ads create the threat (car accident, death), present the cause of the threat (driving under the influence of alcohol) and show the solution of how to avoid the consequences (don’t drink and drive). They both refer to negative consequences and evoke fear. Click here for an ad from The Danish Road Safety Organization.

However, too heavy a load of negativity can have the reverse effect on the viewer, creating psychological discomfort and leading them to reject the message.

Ads that make people want to help each other are based on the effectiveness of compassion, message comprehension and the availability of the viewer’s means to help. More people will donate money in the form of a text message (SMS message) while sitting on their sofa in front of the TV, than will make a bank transfer. Click here for an example.(See translation at the end of the article.)

“Papa don’t preach” – the spiral of change

Social advertising can’t be sententious because we can’t limit all social problems to simple and predictable explanations and solutions. Social advertising should give a voice to those who never had it, and those who never have a chance to stand up and tell about the problem while using an honest and authentic voice. In social advertising, there is no place for taking problems with a grain of salt. Social advertising covers serious and fundamental human problems like human suffering and moral choices. It requires both serious and real solutions.

However, the cause and the emotions aren’t enough to create societal change. They teach, warn, shock, etc., but a month long campaign against drinking and driving will not change behavior. Emotions need to work out the mind, they need time to build ways to our conscience and subconscious like ants build corridors in an anthill.

Social advertising needs to have a long term strategy and deep understanding of human motivations in order to achieve its goal – change in behavior or/and attitudes – spiral of change.

There is no recipe written on how to create an effective social campaign. Measuring a social campaign’s effectiveness is difficult and rare. Social advertising is too important to be left out to chance. Measuring recall isn’t enough. Effectiveness of social advertising should be measured on three levels; motivation, engagement and recall: the higher the motivation and engagement; the better the effectiveness of advertising in terms of generating a change.

Attention is scarce, Sex is wanted

Today, social advertising shares the same problems as commercial advertising: dull sensitivity, immunity to advertising messages, scarce attention, increasing clutter and choices. Advertisers are forced to use nontraditional and sometimes controversial means in order to get their messages through to their viewers.

There is more social advertising that uses humor and sex in the fight for viewers’ attention. Speed Bandits is the campaign from The Danish Road Safety Organization (2006) made as an American news report, where the focus is set on the “liberal” Denmark for taking the creative initiative in combating speed violations in Copenhagen. Topless models are seen waiving around speed limit signs, hoping to attract the attention of the passing-by-drivers to the speed limitations. Speed Bandits’ movie became one of the most viral films on the Internet. The viral character of the campaign attracted millions of viewers to the campaign site and created a lot of attention from both target groups and traditional media. The latter one increased the effectiveness of the campaign and reached the general public by giving it lots of media space. In the first week alone, the campaign was seen 1 million times. Watch it here.

With a contagious movie, lots of attention and buzz there is still the key question left - did the campaign reduced speed violations? Research conducted for the Danish Road Safety Council had shown that out of the targeted drivers, 30% thought more of their speed as a result of the film. Statistics for persons killed in traffic accidents shows increase from 306 in 2006 to 400 in 2007. Another example of a very viral movie using not only sex but also humor is the campaign from The Danish Cancer Organization against tanning beds. They use Mascha Vang, reality TV star. This is really great idea; it generated lots of views, comments and laughs about the model and the ending. Though, the question about the effectiveness of the campaign is still open.

Conclusions

Changing behavior isn’t an easy task. As I mentioned earlier, it requires strong strategic work, engagement and understanding of human motivations. People don’t exist in a vacuum. Advertising alone, no matter how viral it is, will never change or shape human behavior and attitudes. All gimmicks are allowed to catch people’s attention, but they aren’t enough. Getting people to laugh or cry doesn’t guarantee they will take action. Social advertising only makes sense when it gets people thinking and talking about the social problems. Effective social advertising needs to be able to ignite a social debate.

*Translation of the ad for Folkenskirke Nodhjelp agitating for donation for kids in Africa: Yes, yes, I know you want money, but money don’t hang on trees. And I also have things I need to take care for. Besides, cash, there are no people who have cash on them. So just let it be. (Picture of African children) yeah, that’s the way it is. Use your herd power. Come on!

(Text) Welcome kindly those who collect money on Sunday. If you want to help, have money ready.