Free Advertising Worth Less Than Nothing?

Jeff Brooks has a new article this week at FundRaising Success: Easier Said Than Done: Abstract Art or Fundraising? He starts by summarizing a few nonprofit advertisements from the past few years. The pattern quickly becomes clear: some of the ads look cool, but none of them make an explicit call to action. They replace clear marketing with symbolism.

Abstract expressionism is an acquired taste. It takes some commitment to appreciate its beauty. It sometimes draws comments like, "A monkey could paint that!" For the record, I'm a fan of abstract expressionism. There's a vast qualitative difference between one of Pollock's splatter paintings and the work of a monkey. Maybe that's why it annoys me to watch as certain ad agencies try to recreate the magic of abstract expressionism in their work for nonprofit organizations. It's not going well. I think the monkeys might do better.

The topic has been a hobby of Jeff's for awhile. For years, he's been writing a series of posts on what he calls stupid nonprofit ads. It's likely that you've heard about some of these. DDB Brazil sparked controversy in September with a misguided September 11-themed ad campaign for the World Wildlife Fund. WWF disowned the ad, but not before DDB had submitted it for ad industry awards. In Australia, a fight-fire-with-fire approach to size discrimination rose more than a few eyebrows, and some people point to One Laptop Per Child's John Lennon endorsement as a culprit in its sales decline.

The problem, Jeff says, is that ad agencies don't care enough about serving the nonprofit; they're more interested in winning awards, particularly (and most egregiously) when they work for free. He warns in no uncertain terms, "Do not talk to representatives from ad agencies. They are armed with abstract ideas, and they are very skilled at making you think these ideas are good. If you are approached, do not agree to anything; carefully leave the area and flee."

Related

• Fundraising Facts
• Beware of Creative Directors

Photo: San Francisco's Hugo Hotel, Spleeney, CC license

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