Heavens above - a very public debate
Let me make one thing clear at the outset, I intend no offence to the personal beliefs and convictions of any individual.
But as the recession continues to bite and empty billboards start to appear on our streets, media companies must be thanking their lucky stars as a debate on the existence of God takes place in advertising space.
Following the highly controversial (depending on your point of view) British Humanist Association campaign proclaiming ‘There’s probably no God, now stop worrying and enjoy your life’ a new campaign, launched by the Christian Party claims ‘There definitely is a God, so join the Christian party and enjoy your life’.
What’s the big deal? Firstly there’s the question of free speech and how that plays into an advertising medium bound by its own rules and regulations. At first there was a suggestion that the Advertising Standards Authority would be asked to rule on the probable existence of God in deciding whether to uphold complaints from those offended by the Humanist ads. Fortunately it didn’t come to that, but it would have been a heck of a debate and interesting to see the ASA determining matters of religious doctrine.
But I think in a way much more interesting is the use of advertising as a medium for such a debate by a particular interest group. These campaigns can be seen as an innovative and legitimate use of the public media landscape to bring an issue to the forefront of the public mind and stimulate a debate.
It’s not the first time advertising has been used in this way, but it is possibly the first time that such a high profile debate has been sparked as a result.
Is this a good or bad thing? Does it make an issue seem tawdry or does it give it a sense of energy and importance?
To a point it is probably a reflection of the level to which advertising as a medium has penetrated our daily lives. The Government and public services use it, for example, to encourage us to stop smoking, do more exercise or be more tolerant of each other – so what’s the difference?
In some ways it’s actually quite refreshing to see something different and challenging; advertising that genuinely maybe stops you in your tracks and makes you think for a moment. And think more than just ‘mmmmm, I want one of those.’ Maybe in this time of economic downturn a little more soul searching might be no bad thing?
The key issue, it seems to me, is in the cost. While channels such as Facebook, blogs, websites, Twitter et al are a very democratising media that do give a voice to individual, bus advertising remains beyond the budget of many groups. So there is a risk that those with more money are able to use this to their advantage, the more money you have, the louder your voice – an old theme, but one which the Internet in all its many glories has made some considerable progress in addressing.
Here’s where the Internet may yet have an intriguing answer.
In this day and age when a collective of people can be mobilised and organised online to buy and manage a football team why not mobilise through social networking for a cause? If you could convince 3,500 people from a Facebook group each to pay a tenner you’d have a budget that could let you advertise your message. Whatever it might be.
Perhaps over the next few months we’ll see more issue-led and philosophy-based advertising as Facebook groups pool their resources and go public?
Could community-led advertising possibly be the Next Big Thing?