The media nowadays is saturated with charitable organisation adverts containing starving, poverty-stricken people that are dependent on our donations to survive. These images of starving children in Africa and the woman working in horrible labour conditions have undoubtedly become part of our everyday lives. The constant waterfall of such images has made us somewhat numb. An overload will lead to worse donating behaviours.

Are these clichés beneficial in helping to develop the global South?

The answer is simple: no, they are not.

Stereotyping groups and individuals is always harmful. In this case, the issue is that the media is producing an “us and them.” This causes us, as potential donors, to disconnect from potential beneficiaries.

Once we distance ourselves from others in this way, we start caring less about them. It also becomes easier to forget about them. In a sense, these sorts of advertisements are doing the opposite of what we want them to. People see these images, sympathise with them and then go on living their lives as they did before. It doesn’t change donating behaviour as effectively as it could.

Ok, I get it. But what can we do against this?

The answer, again, is simple: Fun advertising.

Studies show that individuals respond to fun advertising a lot more than sad ones. This is because the brand has provided the viewer with amusement. The audience projects the feeling they get from the advertisement towards the product. This goes for attitudes towards the actual ad, the intentions and the brand.

Charitable organisations, although they are not-for-profit, are also brands. Thus, charity advertising can take note of for-profit advertising. People in a good mood will be more likely to donate. They will feel good about themselves and want to share that feeling. They will also start associating the good feeling with donating.

When creating any sort of advertisement, charitable causes need to learn to move away from harmful stereotyping by adding some (helpful and harmless) humour and entertainment to their otherwise sombr commercials, posters and videos.

Can't really imagine a "funny" ad for a serious cause?

Have a look at this great example from the British Heart Foundation.