Why Charities Should Abandon Shock Advertising - Regina Yau

https://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2012/aug/30/charities-should-abandon-shock-advertising

‘Getting people to support less ‘cuddly’ causes’ … ‘has always been a Sisyphean task.’ 

[there is a] ‘temptation for charities’ … ‘to reach for shock advertising to generate awareness and donations.’ 

‘People give because of tragedy and sadness.’ 

‘a circus of sadness’ 

[shock imagery] ‘wildly succeeded in the mid-1980s’

‘when the tactics were repeated in the early 1990s, their efforts fell flat in the face of compassion fatigue from previously enthusiastic donors.’ 

‘There are always powerful alternatives to negative campaigning.’ 

‘we owe it to those we serve to avoid sensationalising their pain.’ 

‘Bad enough that they had to face trauma and obstacles without us using them or their situation as case studies to leverage public guilt.’

• Are shock tactics socially responsible? They might encourage some people to donate money or become involved with a cause, but they could be very distressing for people who have experienced such things or children who aren’t aware of all of the bad things that happen in the world. They can be considered socially responsible for raising awareness of an issue but the image is out of control once is leaves their hands and they can’t directly control the audience it reaches. 

‘Are we fighting for brand recognition or are we fighting for real change?’ 

• Link to Benetton advert and H&M. It’s a question that can be asked for both - it comes down the the actions behind it. 

‘If all shock advertising does is generate temporary public outrage, reinforce negative perceptions of our causes and create compassion fatigue, then we should abandon it.’ 

• Negative advertising in effect, making people feel bad and guilt tripping them into doing something they might not have done before. Is this a good thing to be doing? The results might look good with numbers of donations rising but this doesn’t mean this is a morally good way of tackling the issue. 

UK Prostate Cancer Charity - gauge the reaction of donors to negative and positive appeal letters. ‘Donors who received the positive appeal letters made donations with 45 percent more on average.’ 

• This is a good experiment to include in my essay as a reference. Positivity causes positive results!

‘look for ‘bright spots’’ … ‘Then, build your campaign around that.'