Ethical and Unethical Advertising at Christmas

With Christmas time around the corner the increase of charity adverts will become more apparent. I’ve read many blogs discussing the unethical drive behind ‘tugging on peoples heart strings’ around the festive period in order for people to cough up money. But is it really unethical?

The most recent Cancer Research campaign is one of my favourite. Of course, the majority of charity adverts follow a structure with a clear call to action at the end, mixed in with some heart-tugging and tear jerking messages. However this particular advert does what it needs to do.

Admittedly, it does contain a lot of the expected codes and conventions of a traditional charity advert, in particular one designed to raise money for research and the awareness of cancer, but this advert is constructed to be more relating and therefore affective for the audience.

http://aboutus.cancerresearchuk.org/what-we-do/our-new-tv-campaign/

The advert is obviously tugging at the heartstrings so people tug at their purse-strings as the overwhelming majority of charity adverts do. However, this particular campaign brilliantly staggers the negative and positive emotion throughout. For example, we are initially saddened by those in the advert revealing how they felt when they were told their loved one was diagnosed with cancer but relief promptly arrives in smiles and happy endings. However, the advert ends with an elderly man alone on a sofa; possibly to illustrate that whilst work is being done to fight cancer it is still not enough. This is where the call to action for the audience comes in asking them to pledge just £2 a month to help people like those in the advert, who they can undoubtedly relate to in one way or another.

Christmas is a time for generosity and giving to those who are in need, and charities should be able to utilise people’s festive and giving mood to help benefit others. Although many people have commented on charity advertising around the festive period as a manipulative way to guilt people in to giving and therefore unethical, would the same people expect an ice cream brand not to advertise in summer?