Friday, November 16, 2012

Really Strange Social Advertising

I've recently discovered some strange samples of the Russian social advertising. They are about disabled people and that we shouldn't pay attention on their disabilities. Generally, the message is like "OK, we are all different and that's great". Advertisers chose to emphasize this difference via comparing disabled people with some controversial artworks, like Malevich's "Black Square" etc. "Yes, you may not like it but it's still the art".  I think it's not very politically correct, at least. May be, a disabled person may be offended by such a comparison. Advertisers have stepped on the slippery ground, anyway. Let's have a look at what they've done.

Picture - Art
Look at deviations from the norm in the another way. 
Every disabled person can be great. 

 Fruit - Brand
(the text is the same as it is on the previous picture)

Tower - Legend 


The design is quite minimalistic and primitive drawings are in fashion now, but anyway, I think it's a rather bad sample of a social advertising campaign. Yes, "Black Square" is a great masterpiece, Apple Inc. is a great company which has changed our idea of electronic devices and Pisa Tower is the great landmark of this Italian town, but the idea of deficiency compared with "the norm" (a lifelike, realistic picture; a "whole" apple; a straight-standing tower) lies behind this "appreciation of greatness".  "Deviations from the norm" is a bad idea for a slogan, anyway. Who is defining this norm? Especially if we are speaking about people? I believe that many handicapped people really suffer from being "special" and from the constant emphasis on the idea that "they are not like normal people". This advertising campaign may only make things worse. 

But, may be, I'm not right and this idea for ads is really great. What do you think about it, by the way?

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