Public Information and Charity Appeals etc

[Tiggy]

On the whole do you think these TV commercials do what they are meant to do?

Are there any particular ones that stand out in your mind as particularly effective and have spurred you on to take action, send money etc

Do you think some of them would be more effective at achieving their aims if they took a different angle or do you think that, broadly speaking, if they can stir up strong emotions of anger, sadness and fear, that is the best way to galvanise us into action?

I am particularly interested to hear your views on any of the NSPCC ads.

Thankyou
Tiggy :)

[Belladonna]

I think the NSPCC ads are very good. In fact it was watching one of these that prompted me into paying a monthly subscription to them some 2 years ago - so it must work!

I think they are also very clever as they are currently tackling a very serious issue, but taking the horror out of it in one way by using cartoon characters, and yet it is still effective.

[Marina Stone]

Hi Tiggy

I have been giving to the NSPCC on a monthly basis now for at least 8 years and each time I gave birth to one of my sons I gave a little extra as a separate donation.

I think donations are a personal thing and everybody gets pulled in a different direction. I felt the ads made me realise how lucky I was with my life and situation. Yes, the sad stories and images of children with sad faces, sounds of shouting parents or lonely kids sitting in their cot with their teddy does touch the heart strings. I can remember at least 4 of their ads.

We all know just from watching the news that these things do happen so they don't need to convince us of that, however they do a good job of showing us the reality without showing the actions.

I hope this helps

Marina

[Tiggy]

Thankyou so much both of you for your replies - more people join in please?

I'm asking because I'm in the process of coming up with something rather unique in an effort to tackle the problems of child abuse and neglect etc.

It will take me a while but I am planning to contact all the child charities when it is finalised to see if they are interested in utilising my ideas.

Two of my most salient points are repeated in your replies.

First of all I totally agree - it is not a case of raising awareness. We are all fully and completely aware. We need to go a step further on now and get used to talking about it. Nine times out of ten if you want to raise it you get met with a deafening silence. This almost superstitious fear that if you talk about it makes it real and if you brush it under the carpet it might go away needs to tackled.

And the second point is, I do actually think that too much hot emotion or trying to shock people with the graphic realities just automatically makes people switch off. It sounds ironic to say we need to inform and educate in a light hearted way but I believe that is the most effective. The example of using cartoon characters is a great one.

It needs to stop being such a taboo subject in the family home. My belief is that we should get to the stage when the subject in general is as easy to talk about as what we watched on TV or what to have for dinner. Not meaning we are to trivialise it but just the opposite - we are to give it the full recognition it deserves by being able to discuss it openly and freely.


Tiggy