I've been involved in many campaigns for and against issues, or for political parties, where a debate about the merits of advertising as part of the campaign inevitably arises. Those who argue against spending on advertising rarely appreciate its worth as part of the wider campaign.
Inventive advertising creates great content which can be used as a 'peg' for a media story and to be shared via social media. Truly groundbreaking adverts can help to define a campaign in the way even the best speech or well-researched news story never can. Invest in the latest technology or combine with a social media effort and a campaign can soon build momentum.
A Spanish organisation campaigning against child abuse have achieved exactly this. ANAR -– Aid to Children and Adolescents at Risk Foundation – has launched an ad that displays a different message to children and adults at the same time.
This YouTube video explains exactly how it works:
Clearly this is an important campaign and ANAR have been clever at finding a new way to get their message across to their audiences at the initial point of impact. They have also recognised how useful a strong advertising campaign can be to supporting the communication of a campaign's messages through other channels.
A quick Google search for this ad shows it has been covered by media organisations from the BBC, to the Toronto Sun, Nine News in Australia and Huffington Post in both the United States and France. The YouTube video has been viewed nearly three million times in the past week. This is in addition to the coverage in Spain where ANAR are based.
As this ad was devised to mark an international day against child abuse I'd say they have more than met their brief. For that reason I make ANAR my Communicator of the Week.
Written by Edward Staite, founder of Staite Communications
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