Social advertising – what impact does it have on our lives?

Social advertising – what is it?

It raises current, important and at the same time difficult topics that people do not want to think about on a daily basis, e.g. domestic violence, addictions, pedophilia, diseases, accidents, cybercrime, health.

Social advertising often evokes extreme and unpleasant feelings in recipients – fear, sadness, depression, compassion. It encourages reflection and stimulates action. It informs, educates and warns against danger. It shows that every person is a full member of society and has the right to live in the same way as others.

Social advertising is usually implemented in two ways:

• by persuading recipients to take specific actions, e.g. helping those in need, supporting a charity campaign, joining a group of volunteers, regularly participating in health tests, leading a healthy lifestyle, segregating waste, saving water;
• by persuading them to stop certain actions, e.g. addictive drinking of alcohol and smoking cigarettes, fast driving, domestic violence, throwing garbage in the forest, wasting food.

Social advertising is a kind of marketing tool that promotes positive behaviors in society, and negates and stigmatizes bad behaviors.

Social advertising and commercial advertising – similarities and differences

Social advertising, like commercial advertising, is persuasive in nature – it not only informs about the problem, but also influences changes in behavior and attitude. It is presented using the same media – television, the Internet, radio, billboards. It attracts attention and arouses the interest of the recipient. But it has a completely different message and evokes completely different emotions.

The authors of commercial ads try to make them evoke pleasant and positive associations. They arouse joy and smiles, improve mood and encourage purchases. Social ads, on the other hand, are aggressive in nature. They talk about things that people want to forget. They evoke negative emotions – pain, anxiety and fear. Sometimes they tell a heartwarming story, move people, encourage them to act and always have a strong impact on the human psyche.

Sometimes their effects are noticeable after a longer period of time, and sometimes most people are not able to notice them at all. Nevertheless, they have a huge impact on the whole society and are often the only ones to draw our attention to certain problems.

Social advertising – who is the sender?

The senders of social advertising are usually public sector institutions (e.g. Ministry of Health, Environment, Road Transport), non-profit organizations and foundations. Increasingly often you can also come across campaigns organized by the world’s largest brands, which, using their potential, decide to raise the most important social issues.

They are often directly related to their activities (e.g. ecological problems, waste segregation and recycling), and sometimes they raise other problems that people around the world struggle with (e.g. lack of acceptance, loneliness, diseases). These campaigns are local, national and often global.

Social advertising – example

Creating a good, engaging and mind-changing social campaign is a real art. Below we present advertisements that have become an inspiration and changed the attitudes of people in our country and around the world.

SOS Kinderdorf – a spot raising the problem of hunger among children

The touching story of a little boy is a perfect example of the fact that social advertising does not always have to have a negative message. The film raises an important topic, grabs the viewer’s attention and arouses strong emotions in them. And that’s exactly what it’s all about.

IKEA – Be Someone’s Home

Starbuck’s – #WhatsYourName

Ikea and Sturbuck’s – two huge transnational corporations – raise important topics recently – homophobia, discrimination against the LGBT community, stigmatization.

These ads show how important mutual acceptance and understanding of others is, especially now. They are a great example of the fact that social ads are not organized only by non-profit organizations and public benefit institutions, but also by world-famous brands.

EDEKA – lonely Christmas

An emotional story that touches on the topic of loneliness during Christmas. Short and moving, it shows how important family is and celebrating the most important days of the year together.

The first day without smog

The ad draws attention to the problem of poor air quality in Poland. The campaign is to show that everyone cares about clean air and if we do nothing about it, in a few years we will have nothing to breathe. It makes us realize that problems related to ecology are problems for all of us.

SECRET – campaign for the Nobody’s Children Foundation

A very controversial campaign that addresses the issue of sexual violence against children. A difficult and unfortunately still relevant topic. The spot arouses extreme emotions and stays in the memory for a long time.

Rak’n’Roll Foundation – It’s not me

The aim of the campaign is to raise money for wigs for women who are suffering from cancer. It arouses strong emotions, encourages reflection and, of course, action.