SOCIAL ADVERTISING: WHAT NOT TO DO

Social advertising is one of the main tools in the fight for a better future for us and our descendants. In this article, we’ll tell you what to do to make sure you don’t jeopardize that future. And you can order social advertising right now in KOLORO studio!

“If there were more kindness, life would be different.”

History of social advertising

The starting point in the history of social advertising is considered to be the beginning of the last century, when a public organization from the United States called for the protection of Niagara Falls from damage caused to it by energy companies. But it actually started even earlier – in the mid-19th century. At the time, the Civil War was underway in the States and the government began issuing leaflets urging people to volunteer for the army.

Psychologists have realized that advertising has the power to manipulate human emotions more than anything else. And this ability was actively used in propaganda, which in the 20th century, rich in wars and political strife, became the second major weapon after nuclear weapons. Even during World War I posters with Uncle Sam “I want you for U.S. army” became very popular, and especially social advertising spread in the USSR and Nazi Germany.

In the second half of the 20th century, social advertising finally began to be used for more proper purposes – education about healthy lifestyles, addressing inequality, etc. The development of television and the Internet helped to increase the scale of advertising campaigns, and now social advertising is a huge multi-billion dollar industry with its own institutions, rules and key figures.

“The longer a child with autism goes without help, the harder it is to reach them“

Research on social advertising in Ukraine: why it doesn’t work for us

Truly high-quality social advertising in our country is quite rare. Why is it like this? Let’s not dig too deep and speculate about whether the right people are carrying out such projects – if you want, anyone can learn the basics of this business. The problem is that Western advertisers have been trained for decades in the principles and mechanisms of social advertising’s influence on people.

In our country this issue remained unstudied for a long time, and it is impossible to rely only on the results of foreign studies because of the different mentality of our audience. Therefore, Ukrainian specialists have to only begin the path long traveled by their Western colleagues. And, naturally, unsuccessful advertising is far more common than successful advertising.

Thus, many people understand social advertising as any communication with positive intentions, rather than changing attitudes or motivating people to take action: drawing the outline of a country under a yellow and blue flag – that’s peace advertising, showing a forgotten celebrity who uses condoms in the noughties – that’s a social campaign on HIV prevention. And okay, if it were just money spent and sawed off (and the cost of social advertising often exceeds the cost of regular advertising) – but it’s also a missed opportunity to spread the word about a problem or prevent it.

What do we do then? Wait for Ukrainian specialists to reach the level of Western ones? You don’t have to – you just need to know the universal rules and models of advertising for all countries, which we will talk about below.

The mission of social advertising in modern society

To create the right social media ad, you need to determine what its purpose (i.e., what problems it is intended to solve) and objective (how it is going to do so) is. And there’s a wide variety of options here.

“You can switch that, but they can’t.“

Objectives of social advertising

• to solve a social problem that has arisen in society or to prevent its occurrence;
• show people how they can solve the problem themselves or get them to be more proactive;
• to form certain value orientations or socially acceptable behavioral attitudes in society.

“Thecolor of your skin shouldn’t determine your future.”

Objectives of social advertising:

• bring important issues to the attention of the public;
• inform you how to solve these problems;
• form a unified opinion on important issues;
• change people’s attitudes towards certain topics (e.g. integration of HIV-positive people into society);
• to support those in need;
• create a positive image of organizations like the Red Cross or social institutions in need of support;
• to form the necessary values and moral guidelines in society;
• report the provision of social assistance or services;
• tell you about holding socially important events.

“It’s scary. Even scarier“

Social advertising strategy: how not to make mistakes

Having defined the goals and objectives, you can proceed to the full-fledged creation of social advertising. And this is where you have to be careful, because one wrong step can change the attitude towards the whole advertisement. So what are some mistakes you shouldn’t make?

1. Wrong audience

Often advertisers appeal to the wrong person altogether – for example, it’s pointless to tell dog killers not to do it. The other thing is to resonate with the rest of society, making previously indifferent people think about the problem.

It can also be a mistake to choose an audience that is too broad rather than different. Thus, when creating an anti-smoking advertisement, it is necessary to realize that smokers are divided into those who smoke to calm down, those who smoke because everyone in their environment does so, etc. And their motivation to stop smoking will be quite different.

2. Inappropriate slogans or images

Social advertising is not modern art, so overly abstract or meaningless slogans and visuals may simply not be understood (or misunderstood) by the target audience.

3. lack of motivation

Advertising doesn’t work if it doesn’t explain to the audience why they should use condoms or not drink. A person must be motivated to do or stop doing something. It can be evoked through emotion – negative by telling you about undesirable consequences, or positive by showing you how good your life can become. The latter is always preferable, as permanent intimidation will simply stop working over time.

4. Unsuccessful design

Even if the slogan is perfectly chosen and the motivation works, illiterate implementation can ruin the whole idea. Small fonts, poorly matching colors, incorrect location of visual elements – there can be a lot of mistakes. The KOLORO studio will help you to avoid them and create high-quality social advertising!

“Give way to someone holding something more important.”

Examples of unsuccessful social advertising in the city

There are tons of absurd and ridiculous social ads on the internet that are hard to believe exist. True, it is not only found on Google, but also outside the window. We have picked up a few examples of Ukrainian advertising that does not stand up to any criticism.

A social campaign against flavored cigarettes and tobacco storefronts.

It would seem to be an excellent goal, investing effort and finances in the fulfillment of which can achieve effective results. So why did it end up being a pointless waste of money?

1. Text is one of the most important tools of social advertising. In this case, it not only doesn’t work – it’s even hard to understand. Do cigarettes make kids smoking a risk? Is this the plot of a science fiction movie?
2. Celebrities in public service announcements can inspire people to follow their lead. For example, David Beckham advising to use condoms to keep away from STDs. Or Svyatoslav Vakarchuk urging to read books. But to whom among those who lobby for tobacco laws will the junior rhythmic gymnastics champion or the singer from “The Voice. Kids”?
3. “No to cigarettes in display cases” and “No flavored tobacco” – not only is the main message of the campaign written in small print, but it is also placed in a far from prominent place. And what is only worth the image of a cigarette, which is so cleverly combined with the background that you need to try to notice it.

No matter which way you look at it, this social media ad is done completely wrong – from the design to the wording. But it’s not like it was an isolated incident.

A social campaign to fight breast cancer.

We criticized the previous ad for inept design and unnecessary celebrities. It would seem that everything is fine here – everything is visible, and the whole country knows the group “95th Quarter”. What’s wrong then?

1. Not all people in the world know who a mammologist is. Given the reputation of the poster comedians, you’d think it was their next mother-in-law joke. Of course, if you read the phrase “Men Against Breast Cancer” and think about it a bit, it becomes clear that a mammologist is such a doctor. But as luck would have it, the phrase is written in small print, and “a little thought” is something that is contraindicated for any, not just social, advertising. The point should be obvious immediately.
2. Why should the viewer take their loved one to a mammologist? Especially if he doesn’t know who it is. A sign that says “no joke” is not the best motivation.
3. Why are men chosen as the target audience for the advertisement? Perhaps it is different in the West, but in Ukraine the majority of men do not take care even of their own health, let alone the health of those around them. The authors probably expected that viewers who saw the commercial would take their wives and girlfriends to the doctor, but it would have been much more logical to target a female audience.

Social campaign on HIV prevention.

Another failed commercial. What’s the problem this time?

1. “With a condom, it’s as good as a note” – what is that even? No, it’s good if the tagline in a public service announcement is thought-provoking. But think about the issue being raised, not what the point of the phrase is. Sure, the text at the bottom explains that it’s about safe sex, but: a) the message of the ad should be clear from the tagline, not from additional information that is easy to miss; b) if it’s already that way, why not at least make the text readable?
2. Every year, music trends and popular artists are changing at an ever-increasing rate. But it seems that Druga Rika is still a relevant group for Ukrainian advertisers. Thank you that at least they are, and not “Gaidamaks” as in the first example. Only okay Valery Kharchishin, after all quite a recognizable personality, but what are the other band members doing on the poster? Who even knows them by sight? With them, the poster looks more like an advertisement for a new movie a la “What Men Talk About,” rather than an advocacy against HIV.
3. Apparently, the profession of the guest stars influenced the whole concept of the advertisement – otherwise it is difficult to explain the presence of musical terms and the decorative element in the form of a gray sheet music on a gray (!) background.

Where is the best place to order social advertising

Need a public service announcement, but afraid you’ll get another “smoking risk” or “condom-as-a-note”? Don’t be afraid! Ordering social advertising in KOLORO studio, you will turn to a team of experienced professionals who will help you make a high-quality and effective poster or commercial.