44 Powerful Social Ads That Totally Nailed It… Absolutely Brilliant.

Advertising, in its non-commercial guise, is a powerful educational tool capable of reaching and motivating large audiences. According to “Father of Advertising” David Ogilvy, his contemporary, Howard Gossage, said “advertising justifies its existence when used in the public interest – it is much too powerful a tool to use solely for commercial purposes.”

Public service advertising reached its height during World Wars I and II under the direction of more than one government. Here we have collated some of the most creative and brilliant public interest ads. Can you get the message from these ads too?

Global Action In The Interest of Animals: Plastic Bags Kill

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Advertising Agency: BBDO Malaysia, MALAYSIA, Kuala Lumpur / Advertising Agency: Duval Guillaume, Belgium

World Wide Fund For Nature: Frightening vs. More Frightening

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Advertising Agency: DDB&CO., Istanbul, Turkey

Your Skin Color Shouldn’t Dictate Your Future

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Advertising Agency: Publicis Conseil, Paris, France

Deforestation Continues With The Turn Of A Page

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Advertising Agency: LINKSUS, Beijing, China

Terrorism-related deaths since 2001: 11,377. Tobacco-related deaths since 2001: 30,000,000

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Unhate

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Advertising Agency: Fabrica, Italy

Elm Grove Police Department: Slower Is Better

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Advertising Agency: Cramer-Krasselt, Milwaukee, USA

Save Paper – Save The Planet

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Advertising Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, Copenhagen, Denmark

Air Pollution Kills 60.000 People A Year

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Advertising Agency: unknown

Liking Isn’t Helping. Be A Volunteer. Change A Life

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Advertising Agency: Publicis, Singapore

Bird Conservation: If You Don’t Pick It Up They Will

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Advertising Agency: TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris, Johannesburg, South Africa

What We See When You Smoke

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Advertising Agency: JWT, Atlanta, USA

Animal Anti-Cruelty League: That’s Not A Football

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Advertising Agency: Lowe Bull, Cape Town, South Africa

Bangalore Traffic Police: Don’t Talk While Driving

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Advertising Agency: Mudra Group, India

Child Soldiers: It’s Not Happening Here, But It’s Happening Now

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Creative/Art director Pius Walker, Amnesty International, Switzerland.

If you don’t help feed them, who will? Please call Concordia Children’s.

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Torture Victims Are People Just Like You And Me

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Advertising Agency: Advico Y&R, Zurich, Switzerland

Stop The Violence: Don’t Drink And Drive

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Advertising Agency: Terremoto Propaganda, Curitiba, Brazil

Premature Ending: “If you smoke, statistically your story will end 15% before it should.”

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“THE END. If you smoke, statistically your story will end 15% before it should. For help with quiting call QUITTLINE on 0200 00 22 00″ (Advertising Agency: Iris, London, UK)

You can lose more than your patience.

projekt-lions.indd

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Censorship Tells The Wrong Story

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Advertising Agency: Memac Ogilvy & Mather Dubai, UAE

Distracted Driving: Think Of Both Sides

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Advertising Agency: Red Pepper, Ekaterinburg, Russia

Every 60 Seconds a Species Dies Out. Each Minute Counts

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Advertising Agency: Scholz & Friends, Berlin, Germany

Innocence In Danger: Where’s The Pedophile?

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Art Director: Michael Arguello, Copywriter: Bassam Tariq, Additional credits: Jason Musante

Sexual Predators Can Hide In Your Child’s Smartphone

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Advertising Agency: Herezie, Paris, France

Smoking Causes Premature Aging

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Advertising Agency: Euro RSCG Australia

You’re Not A Sketch. Say No To Anorexia

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Advertising Agency: Revolution Brasil

Neglected Children Are Made To Feel Invisible. Stop Child Abuse Now

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“To dramatize the issue of neglect, we placed mannequins dressed as children behind billposters. When the inevitable happened, we revealed a second message.” (Australian Childhood Foundation, JWT Melbourne)

What Goes Around Comes Around. Keep The Sea Clean

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Advertising Agency: JWT, Dubai, UAE

Tailgating Isn’t Worth It. Give Trucks Room

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Advertising Agency: Amélie Company, Denver, Colorado, USA

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society: When You See A Tuna, Think Panda

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Advertising Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Singapore

Sleepiness Is Stronger Than You. Don’t Drive Sleepy

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Advertising Agency: BBDO Bangkok, Thailand

See how easy feeding the hungry can be?

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Advertising Agency: TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris, Johannesburg, South Africa

Causing Cancer By Yourself

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Advertising Agency: Dentsu, Beijing, China

Breast Cancer Awareness Bra

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Advertising Agency: Bolero, Fortaleza, Brazil

What Goes Around Comes Around: Stop The Iraq War

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Advertising Agency: Big Ant International, New York, USA

UN Women: Auto-Complete Shows Perceptions Of Women

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Advertising Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Dubai, UAE

Don’t Buy Exotic Animal Souvenirs

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Advertising Agency: LOWE GGK, Warsaw, Poland

Animal Abuse And Shelters: Same Pet, Different Owner

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Advertising Agency: TBWA-Santiago Mangada Puno, Philippines

Buckle up. Stay alive

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Advertising Agency: Lg2, Quebec, Canada

Deforestation And The Air We Breathe: Before It’s Too Late

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Advertising Agency: TBWA\PARIS, France

For The Homeless, Every Day Is A Struggle

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Advertising Agency: Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne, Australia

The Prevention Beer Mug: Please Don’t Lose Control Over Your Drinking

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Advertising Agency: EURORSCG Prague, Czech Republic

One Child Is Holding Something That’s Been Banned In America To Protect Them. Guess Which One?

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Advertising Agency: Grey, Toronto, Canada

THIS is advertising. Share these powerful messages with others.