Sarahlein's Blog: stop and think.

There are advertisements that make us want to turn off the TV immediately because they are annoying, boring or simply nonsense. And then, between all those there are a few rare ads, we remember even though we don't intend to do so. They just stick there, somewhere in our memory because these ads are special in some way.

Today I found a wonderful website that really caught my attention: http://www.boredpanda.com/powerful-social-advertisements/

We are all annoyed by certain advertisements which are just aimed to raise sales figures and influence people in negative ways, manipulating them. The ads shown on this website are different. They address social issues and make us stop and think. We see strong, powerful, maybe shocking pictures. Pictures we are afraid of, don't want to see because they make us realize that the world around us isn't this idyllic, perfect place we sometimes consider it to be. We keep them in our memories, want to share our emotions with other people, talk about these pictures, share the message. Talk about the health risks related to smoking, the dreadful consequences of using our oceans as gigantic garbage cans, overfishing, child abuse and child soldiers, racial discrimination and many more issues that should be addressed.

These advertisements stay in our memories because they show the inconvenient truth and don't try to play down reality. Maybe some people feel offended by these pictures, but in my opinion this is the only way to raise public attention and awareness.

“advertising justifies its existence when used in the public interest—it is much too powerful a tool to use solely for commercial purposes” (David Ogilvy)

I really like this quotation by David Ogilvy for the fact that what he says is true. These pictures don't just want to shock, they are thought-out, creative and clever. The first picture on the left side for instance shows a child soldier in the streets of a city that obviously doesn't have to deal with such an issue. This advertisement directly addresses the one who sees the ad by imagining what it would be like if we had to face such a problem. Seeing this poor little boy with the gun in his hand. No one would be able to just walk by and think of something else. This is what the advertisement aims at. This is why it was created. It makes us realize that child soldiers exist and that these kids need someone who stands up for them. It also makes us realize that Africa or other countries which have to deal with this issue are not so far away and that we can't simply close our eyes to it.