The end of sad, sad, turn off your TV when that song comes on, days are here. In class, it seems like "In the arms of an angel.." are the worst words to be heard, being that it reminds us of that tearful ASPCA commercial of broken dogs and kittens that need help. This seems to be the message the US wants to send out to everyone - abuse is everywhere and we need to either send some money or adopt one of these animals. It is a sad commercial and a sad realization, but that marketing tactic seems to work, am I right? Who doesn't get depressed when they see those little beady eyes of the tattered puppy just staring at you, mentally asking you for help?
Well, when I was in Amsterdam last weekend, I noticed an ad geared to saving animals in a different light. It was a little Retriever puppy with a graduation cap on with the following phrase (translated): "Adopt a Puppy, and pay it to the guide dog training."
This to me seems like a better way to approach getting a puppy and saving others. It has a cute puppy, graduating from training, happy, not sad. In the end, you also get the satisfaction of knowing that your money is going towards a good cause as well. In my opinion, it's the best way to save lives and be happy - no more sad music please.
I completely agree, and I actually just posted about a topic similar to what you are discussing. It would definitely be substantially more effective if these groups were to get their point across with more so pleasant approaches, such as the one in your post. The disturbing images and slogans have reached the point where people try to deliberately avoid them, and therefore are definitely less likely to donate or learn about the cause- I know I at least was this past week in Oxford when animal right’s protesters had such disturbing displays.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with you, both. There comes a point when disgust and fear inducing stimuli are so much that consumers do what they can to avoid them, and this is actually shown through a model in psychology—the extended parallel process model—which details an individual’s response to external stimuli through danger and fear control. I’m a believer, as my own actions have proven this, countless times, through avoidance of the Tate pro-life activists and their overly graphic displays. It is nice to finally see a campaign taking a route in which these cheap, ineffective tricks are not used and positive choices are still promoted.
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