Toxic Rivers Tour

Many environmentally-conscious ads (or any social responsibility ads) run the risk of being preachy-- shaming audiences turns them off. Studies that track consumers’ eye movements have proved that people have begun to ignore the graphic images of diseased organs on cigarette packs completely. Provocative and abrasive are not as effective at changing behavior as they used to be, which means organizations and ad campaigns need to be more thoughtful and subtle in their work in order to persuade publics.

Shock value in ads (like the texting while driving campaign or the Sarah Mclaughlin animal cruelty commercial) is effective at getting attention, but people don’t like to think too much about what distresses them. Comedy, however, isn’t threatening and has a lower risk of turning people off than provocative messages. This is why Greenpeace Mexico’s campaign “Toxic Rivers Tour” is effective; the humor of the ad caught my attention and made me interested in what the organization was raising awareness about. The ad presented polluted Mexican rivers as tourist destinations; the absurdity and tongue-in-cheek dig at the country’s apathy towards conservation serve to include everyone in on the joke, instead of shaming them. It’s easier to acknowledge bad behavior when you can laugh at it, which then makes it easier to rectify said conduct.

 I judge an ad’s effectiveness by my willing to learn more about the organization/product—right after I saw the ad I wanted to look the campaign up online. But more than that, it’s a lesson for future PR specialists such as myself: humor can go a long way. Shock value might be good at raising awareness, but in order to really change behavior and attitudes, laughter can sometimes be the best remedy.