When I first came across Oxfam’s ‘Food for All’ campaign, it did what any campaign should do upon first acquaintance; it captured my attention. This is quite something considering we are constantly bombarded by advertisements for films, dating websites, nose sprays and box springs in or on trains, tubes, buses, taxis and cycle rickshaws as well as TV and the Internet. Somewhere among all of these are charity appeals. I usually can’t see the wood (good cause) for the trees (consumerism galore).
This time I could. Admittedly, I work with not-for-profits on a daily basis so I’m much more likely to be drawn to our clients’ latest campaigns than an ad for a peanut butter chocolate bar. Still, this campaign somehow stood out to me, but when I read on things got fuzzy.
“Let’s make Africa famous for its landscapes, not hunger.” Sounds like a great idea, but from the ad, I couldn’t quite figure out the point of this campaign. Landscapes? Hunger? Where is the link? How will a £5 text donation contribute to an Africa rebrand?
From the charity’s website I learned the campaign came after a poll showed the British public have an increasingly negative view of Africa (more than half of 2000 people polled mentioned “poverty”, “famine” and “hunger” when they thought of the continent), making them less likely to donate. These findings correspond with message testing we did recently for a charity, where respondents spoke of 'Africa fatigue' and expressed a clear preference for images which conveyed a sense of hope.
Chief Executive Barbara Stocking said Oxfam GB is looking for ways of getting emotional engagement that are different from "just pulling at heart strings and creating guilt." Our research suggests a new approach is indeed necessary. Due to the current economic climate, MPs care much more about local issues than international ones. This is reflected by our parliamentary research, with Local Hospices topping the ‘directly impressing MPs’ charts with 16% of the vote. Add to this the fact that the overseas development sector is a particularly crowded one, the need for a new approach is quite apparent.
Oxfam’s campaign is an admirable attempt, not least because it juxtaposes the extreme disaster porn we have gradually gotten used to with another extreme; arrestingly beautiful landscapes. I for one would rather sit in the knowledge reality is somewhere sandwiched between the two extremes than be constantly bombarded with the worst case scenario.
But to come back to my initial confusion, I'm still not clear on what these images are trying to do exactly. The initial press release tells me 'Food for All' sets out to challenge viewers' ideas about the continent and to raise funds to end hunger in Africa and to encourage leaders at the G8 summit this year to "step up the fight against hunger and invest in the progress already achieved."
I am not a G8 leader, so the last goal is out of reach. But goals one and two don't do it for me either. Yes, the campaign managed to get my attention. Yes, it got me thinking. But not about my views of the continent or the whereabouts of my phone. Instead, I thought about the art of advertising. Besides attracting attention and involving its audience, a successful campaign must turn that involvement into something – awareness, money, action. This campaign wants it all and ultimately ends up triggering nothing but a sense of paralysing confusion.
I sincerely hope the leaders of the G8 will be less confused. I hope the campaign will spark action besides thinking and vision rather than confusion.
We'll find out in June.
Andrea de Ruiter