To ban, or not to ban?

September 21, 2009

I got to thinking about charity adverts when the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) recently banned two Kids Company adverts after receiving three complaints about the adverts being “racist”.

One of the posters, which featured at tube stations, showed two black teenagers harassing a white man. The second poster featured a picture of four black teenagers with the caption: “You are right – kids who can kill really are wrong in the head.”

The Guardian reported that according to Kids Company: “…the racial mix was representative of the children from the youth clubs in that area, with 80% of the children that came to it for help from Afro-Caribbean backgrounds, a proportion that was again reflected by the ads.” (Guardian, 26.08.09).

Whether or not the adverts were racist they certainly got the attention of the media and wider public. But to be tarred with the racism brush, substantiated or otherwise, must be devastating for the organisation.

The controversy surrounding some charities’ adverts has had many media tongues wagging, some saying good things, others not so good. So why is it that charity adverts find themselves in the firing line more often than commercial adverts?

Charity advertising involves an often complex and restrictive process which can be much more difficult to get right than promoting commercial services and products. Charities often deal with taboo, shocking or upsetting issues which audiences don’t necessarily like to think about.

Something that shocked me was the news that an advert raising awareness of Motor Neurone disease, which showed a metaphor for the pain of the disease, was not allowed to be aired on television because it was too upsetting. But surely the point of this advert is to raise awareness about the condition which is upsetting and painful (click here to read more about it).

And this is what charities are up against. How do you make an advert asking for donations for climate change, child abuse or cancer without showing what can often be an ugly or frightening reality? Not many people would feel incensed to whip out their card and pick up the phone after seeing images of healthy, happy children living in peaceful countries with no disease or violence.

These are some examples of charity adverts that have grabbed attention:

Barnardo’s “hunting advert”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a6EbfgzQfc

Oxfam advert about the arms trade: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXkrS48FFYU

Women’s Aid advert highlighting domestic violence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctoZbeD-GlY&feature=related

Suzi Gammon, CharityComms Intern.