1. Advocacy Advertising 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

2. Advocacy Advertising
The use of marketing used to support a particular message or cause. Unlike commercial advertising, advocacy advertising is considered to be undertaken in the interest of a group or the public, and typically does not promote a product or service.
Also known as interest advocacy ads or issue only ads, these are communications intended to bring a problem to light. Groups that sponsor this form of communication are known by several names including: interest advocacy group, issue advocacy group, issue only group, or special interest group. The problem these groups bring to light can be a social or political issue.
10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

3. Funding
Funding for advocacy advertising can be through non-profit organizations, by corporations or private advocacy groups.
Since our capitalist society runs by the rule that “money talks”, advocacy issues tend to fetch fewer funding dollars than commercial aims which can bring in higher revenue.
Some governments require that organizations engaging in advocacy advertising clearly state how the funding is provided.
10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

4. Cost
Many advocacy advertisements that are deemed to publicize an idea that is “for the greater good” are allowed to run at lower costs, subsidized costs, and even free of charge on media channels.
For example, in some countries, governments allow advertisements that publicize the health hazards of cigarettes are given free publicity space during television and radio programming, and on public service billboards.
10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

5. Examples
An example of advocacy advertising is funding for cancer research. An organization may run paid advertisements on television in order to raise money through donations, and state that donations will be used to pay for drugs and treatments to combat cancer.
In the 1960s, a private citizen bought a two-page ad in the New York Times at a cost of $12,000 to offer his peace plan for ending the war in Vietnam.
In 1974, Mobil Oil Company began advocacy advertising concerning the need for offshore oil drilling to alleviate the energy crisis that existed at the time. NBC accepted the television commercial, but ABC and CBS did not, because of the controversial nature of the topic. As a result, Mobil Oil Company took out fullpage newspaper ads, which reproduced in print the visuals and text for the commercial.
10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

6. Design
Due to the non-commercialized, social nature of advocacy advertising, and in large part because of the limited funding available to produce issue ads, advocacy advertising needs to deliver a high-impact message in a brief time or small format.
For this reason, designers tend to keep verbals brief and artwork (including illustrations and images) simple or minimalist.
The goal is to deliver provocative text or graphic that will hit home quickly. For example, funding campaigns combating starvation in under-developed countries frequently feature images of malnourished, sick children.
10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

7. Provocative Design
Keep in mind that the word “provocative” does not mean sexually explicit. It refers to the ability to provoke a severe emotional reaction in the target audience.
For example:
Bloody, gruesome graphics evoke horror in anti-abortion campaigns
Cute puppies and kittens evoke love and adoration in pet adoption campaigns
Bare, destroyed earth images evoke panic in anti-deforestation campaigns
Healthy breast cancer survivors, running a marathon evoke empathy and care
10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

8. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

9. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

10. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

11. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

12. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

13. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

14. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

15. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

16. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

17. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

18. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

19. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

20. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

21. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

22. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

23. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

24. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

25. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

26. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

27. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

28. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

29. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

30. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

31. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

32. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

33. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

34. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

35. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters

36. 10/29/2013 Design for Advertising
Advocacy Posters