This blog, as a part of a Media Literacy Project within Media & Society course, is trying to evince, in spite of current anti-advertising mood, that advertising can be not only commercial, dumb, entertaining, or controversial but also extremely helpful, trying to make the world a better place.
The aim of this blog is to show that advertising has always been, and especially nowadays is, an indelible part of our everyday lives. Advertising is a natural thing – tradesmen, companies, and organizations have always used diverse means of communication, later particularly mass media, to create awareness and to promote their products, ideas, and services among larger audience.
Moreover, the pro-social media and campaigns allows innovative ideas and new concepts, as well as important social, public and health issues to be shared with others and to be presented in a more attractive and appealing form. Usage of wittiness, innuendos, emotions, and humor – hand in hand with technical advantages of diverse types of media – contributes to better remembering of the advert and potentially greater effect on viewers. It has been proved that some pro-social campaigns, such as MTV safe-sex spots, have considerably boosted public awareness on particular issues.
I am aware that the ratio of commercial vs. pro-social ads is still considerably uneven. However, the pro-social advertising is quickly expanding and getting into the limelight of public interest. Everyone can help, at least by not ignoring the alarming issues of our world.
