Many moons ago my then ad agency boss told this about public service advertising and campaigns seeking donation: ask the reader to take a specific action. It is better to ask for a specific amount as donation for a cause than to simply say ‘donate generously’ and specify a behaviour change when it comes to public service or do-good advertising. As part of the road safety campaign in Melbourne (a favourite of mine), Traffic Accident Commission urged consumers to ‘Wipe off 5‘ as to ‘driving over the limit by just 5 kmph doubles your risk of crashing‘.
I was reminded of all this when I saw the British Heart Foundation’s ‘Dechox’ campaign – asking the UK public to give up chocolate during March. What I liked about it:
– timing: it is the season of abstinence (Lent ends on March 24) and this fits in well with the sentiment
– there is a specific call to action (‘give up chocolate for March and raise money for life saving heart research. Any sort of cocoa is a no-no, which means chocolate bars, sweets, treats, biscuits, ice cream, cake – and even the chocolate sprinkles on your cappuccino – are off limits during March’). ‘Dechoxers’ can donate any amount while others can donate a choose from one of the denominations
– the tool kit includes a survival guide, fund raising materials like email templates, social media badges, printable calendars and more
I liked the print ads a bit more than the two TV spots.
Agency: Killer Creative
