November 16, 2008 | Read Time: 2 minutes
“Some nonprofits just shouldn’t be allowed to have ad budgets,” writes Jeff Brooks, on his Donor Power Blog.
Mr. Brooks, creative director at a marketing firm that serves nonprofit groups, takes issue with what he calls “two more stupid nonprofit ads.”
His first target is a pair of print ads for Goodwill Industries, the social-services charity know for its thrift stores. One ad reads: “Dear Sarah Palin, We eagerly await your $150,000 clothing donation on Nov. 5. Thanks in advance.”
It refers to the pricey wardrobe the Republican vice presidential candidate was provided during the campaign (and the bit of controversy the shopping spree stirred up.) Campaign officials have said the clothing is to be donated to charity.
In a companion ad, the charity directed a request at Barack Obama. It says, in a nutshell, that the charity would “appreciate” it if he were to donate any of his “$1,500 suits.”
“It’s the lame attempt to be ‘balanced’ by bringing up Obama’s $1,500 suits that lands this ad squarely in the ‘stupid’ category’” Mr. Brooks writes. “Whenever did Mr. Obama’s suits ever become part of the conversation?”
He concludes that, in an attempt to appear nonpartisan, the charity came off as “incoherent” and “mean-spirited.”
His other “stupid” ad campaign is happening in London, where the British Humanist Society has been plastering London buses with placards reading: “There probably is no god. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” (The American Humanist Association has begun placing similar ads on buses in Washington.)
Mr. Brooks says that the campaign doesn’t fuel thought about the heady issues involved: god, man, and morality.
“This is more like an adolescent attempt to be shocking and cynical and offending old ladies,” Mr. Brooks writes.
What are your thoughts on these ad campaigns? Click on the comments link to share your views.
