Problems of social advertising. Problems of social advertising and solutions

These gentlemen attribute to him the most absurd motives, because they cannot allow the public good to be a motive in itself. Stendhal. Notes from a tourist

In 2003, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs decided to carry out an action designed to correct the image of Russian police officers. It was planned that image advertising for the police would appear in Moscow and the regions. The campaign will not be limited to outdoor advertising: advertising messages also appeared in the QMS, including electronic ones: “The Ministry of Internal Affairs is not going to pay for its placement - according to the law 5% advertising space, the media should be allocated for social advertising." Stop! What if this is a "place in the sun" for social advertising will all our ministries and departments apply at the same time?

But this is ordinary corporate image advertising, no different from the advertising efforts that some bank makes to improve the tarnished appearance of its office. If a particular ministry feels the need to improve its reputation through such means, what does it have to do with the costs of such activities, enshrined in the Advertising Law as social advertising? It is clear that the latter requires additional definitions in this case.

Let's go back to the police. The article contains a lot of interesting details: “Since the ministry also does not have budgetary funds for the production of posters, commercial advertisers, as usual, will take part in the advertising campaign. By paying for the production of posters, they get the opportunity to place their logos and contact information in the corner of the billboard. For example, this is exactly how - with the participation of the Rossiya insurance company - the Moscow City Internal Affairs Directorate is now conducting an advertising campaign for service 02." I wonder if the police should also fine employees of these advertising producers for violating traffic rules on an individual (preferential) basis? Or on a general basis ?

Further - more: “The results of the tender for the development of this advertising campaign have become known. The winners were the advertising group BBDO and agency McCann Erickson, members of the Union of Social Advertising Creators (USSR). Executive Director USSR T. Korotkova claims that the goal of the Union in this event is “to promote the ideas of social advertising that are relevant and important for the state.”

You see, the performers personally have no doubt that we are talking about events that are relevant and important for the state. And you and I, that is, all citizens of the country?

So, advertising group ADV established the Union, which today will determine the policy of social advertising in the country. Agencies included in this Union, namely the advertising group BBDO and agency McCann Erickson, received a tender for advertising the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which - as is clear from the previous - is not social advertising.

Let us give the floor, however, to the authors of the Union of Social Advertising Creators (USSR): “The main task is to contribute to the implementation of a single public policy in the field of social advertising in the country. 10–15 years ago, the state practically ceased to participate in the formation of stereotypes and patterns of behavior in society, values ​​and assessments, the image of the country on the domestic and foreign markets. As a result, this process was carried out without taking into account state interests. As a result, there is an unprecedented rise in the topic of crime, violence and all kinds of negative information in general. While the authorities are silent, the media earn their ratings from the negative. People today can only see positive images in commercial advertising. There are small victories every day - over rust, dirt, dandruff and caries. But there are no worthy heroes of our time."

Further: “The issues of forming a positive image of Russia abroad are now being actively discussed. However, an equally important problem is the image of Russia within Russia. An immediate return of the state to the sphere of ideology and active actions to revive patriotism in the country are necessary. To bring “reasonable, good, eternal” It is the state that is obliged, and in order for the voice of the state to be heard, it exists, among other things. government advertising" .

There is a curious sign of equality between society and the state here. This problem is political science, and there is no point in intruding into it. I would like to confine myself to the remark that in principle the state - as a combination of the current legislative and executive powers - is a thing that is replaced from time to time. There is no need to burden it with such fundamental tasks, in the solution of which society participates as an equal performer in the form of its civil structures, in the form of culture, art, the same means of mass communication as a platform for updating the points of view of the most diverse social strata and groups. The replacement by the state of the entire society, by the city authorities, of society at the level of an urban settlement is not such a rare thing in our time.

We learn about the last act of this Union from the press: billboards with the 10 biblical commandments appeared on Moscow streets in the first days of Lent (2005). So they decided to visually remind Muscovites of spiritual values. The idea of ​​an advertising campaign promoting moral standards was born in October at the forum “Spiritual and Moral Foundations of Russia’s Demographic Development,” where a lot was said about the decline of spirituality in our country. Then advertising agencies, members of the Union of Social Advertising Creators (USSR), and decided to contribute to improving the moral climate in society by the means available to them - with the help of social advertising: “People need to be reminded that the ideas of goodness and justice have not gone away. This campaign should not become last, then moral recovery will definitely begin.” Advertising surfaces were made with money from companies that were members of the USSR and were placed for free. Patriarch Alexy II sent a letter to the then mayor of Moscow Yu. Luzhkov with a request to allocate 200 places for placing boards with commandments as part of the city social order and immediately received consent. Still, it is unclear who ultimately paid for the placement of the commandments: the Moscow City Hall or the Moscow Patriarchate. The author of the note reports what rich associations could arise if these commandments were placed, so to speak, for their intended purpose. As he writes, “the poster “Don’t make yourself an idol” could look good on the walls of the Kremlin, and “Don’t Steal” - on many government institutions.”

There are examples of a similar nature abroad, but with organizational conclusions. Thus, in the Australian Parliament, the leader of the opposition Labor Party, K. Beazley, published data on the administration’s advertising expenses. The report said that since coming to power in 1996, the coalition government of the Liberal and National parties spent about $250 million on advertising its activities. Immediately after this, Business Review Weekly magazine decided to conduct an independent investigation. As a result, it was found that in 2000 alone, the Australian government spent a huge amount on advertising - more than $70 million. According to experts, the government advertising budget significantly outstripped the budgets of Australia's nine largest corporations, which have always spent a lot of money on advertising, even such giants as Coca-Cola and McDonald's.

The opposition accused the authorities of advertising the system social security With an emphasis on healthcare, pensions and easing tax laws, the government tried in the most primitive way to buy votes for itself in the upcoming parliamentary elections. Labor intended to push for changes to advertising legislation to prevent its use for propaganda purposes in the future.

So, the problem again is the definition of social advertising.

But there are cases that do not fit into our scheme. In the newspaper The New York The Times ran an article about the fortunes of US War Department advertising designed to increase voluntary enlistment in the military. The author of the article describes it this way television advertising, which will be discussed further: “A young African American woman talks to her mother (looking directly into the camera): “Mom, you know why I decided to join the army - I want to be a doctor, and there I will have a real practice, I will work as a nurse or on an x-ray, or with another specialist... This will be great for my future career. What do you think about this?

Large letters run across the background of the speaker’s face: “Your turn.” The camera goes to the web address of a service that deals with military recruitment. An “authoritative” voice addresses parents: “Go to the site, get acquainted with the facts.”

The author compares the picture of the girl in the frame with a poster from the First World War: Uncle Sam, a gray-haired gentleman in a top hat interspersed with US flag stars, points directly at the viewer - “You should join the US Army” ( I want you for U . S. Army) – and in smaller letters: “to the nearest dialing point”.

Given the increased US military presence in Iraq, the US government has launched a large-scale promotional campaign to recruit military recruits. The main move is to appeal to parents, especially mothers, from the point of view that military service is a wise choice for their children. Just on the eve of this action, in October 2005, there was information about the death of one soldier in the hospital from wounds, the two thousandth victim of the war in Iraq. The United States switched to the principle of civilian formation of its army in 1973, when Nixon, in response to numerous protest rallies against the Vietnam War, made such a slogan one of the provisions of his election campaign. Member of the House of Representatives Ch. Rangel demanded the repeal of this law, since the very system of voluntary recruitment into the army and the professional promotion of such an opportunity puts the most poorly endowed segments of the population in a disadvantageous, disadvantaged position: “I have no doubt that the war in Iraq would not have happened if If we had compulsory conscription, because powerful families would not put their children at such risk, today military recruitment promotions, particularly advertising, target poor whites, blacks, and Hispanics." The military is promoting racial integration and increasing opportunities for African Americans, Rangel says, but parents in areas where poor whites, blacks and Hispanics live are angry that their children are the primary target of these advertising messages.

Since the abolition of compulsory conscription, promotions in the military have been driven by all the power of influence that the advertising industry has to offer. As D. Laughlin says, former officer, in the 1970s. who headed the agency in Arlington, Virginia, then achieved unprecedented success. Hundreds of professionals and copywriters ensured the success of the campaign and made volunteer service attractive in the eyes of young people and their parents.

Advertising costs remain very high. In 2004, according to the magazine Advertising Age, which annually ranks the largest players in the advertising market, ranked the US federal government twenty-fifth on the list, spending about $1.2 million; Most of this money, according to analysts, was spent on serving the needs of the military department.

The group of influence that most resists the decisions of young people to go to military service, it turns out, are parents - both representatives of the military departments and market researchers agree with this. Fleet representative based on research carried out by an advertising agency Campbell-Ewald claims that if in mid-2003 about 49% of respondents responded to the call of the military department and were ready to contribute to the conscription of their children into the navy, then in December 2004 the number of mothers ready to do this was only 29%.

If back in 2003, advertising appealed directly to young people (the article is supplied with two photographs of such advertising appeals: one of them shows a young violinist on stage in bright red against the backdrop of the orchestra, but on her legs below the knee there is a square inset - the violinist’s feet are shod in military boots , above them are military khaki breeches; another photo reproduces a dramatic scene of American football: a racing player in a helmet with an American star from the national flag, and on his face there is a square inset - in it there is this face as a military pilot in a helmet, with an oxygen mask and in a parachute suit).

The US Army is now really experiencing difficulties in increasing its numbers, and it uses both direct advertising addressed to the parents of future conscripts and sponsorship of rodeos, auto racing and football in the highest educational institutions. The military website offers military computer games that can be downloaded to personal computers. While the advertisements themselves promise personal career success and do not emphasize the risk of war, the website does emphasize the latter. Since the abolition of compulsory conscription, promotions in the military have been driven by all the power of influence that the advertising industry has to offer.

So, society wins because this state of affairs ensures the protection of the country's borders - the goal of any army, and the American population considers the army the most trustworthy institution, even today, despite growing opposition to the war in Iraq and scandals involving the humiliation of prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison. It is not for nothing that the closure of this prison was one of the points of B. Obama’s election program when he ran for the presidency, and the decision to close it was one of the first he signed when he won this race. Attitude towards the army has long been an indicator of a certain patriotism of the population.

On the other hand, local military conflicts in which the American army takes part have become the subject of political battles; different solutions to these issues are included in the set of promises of one or another force in the political space; in fact, sometimes it becomes the content of political advertising.

It is necessary to emphasize that protecting the interests of society (and the state in this case) is embedded here in personal interest: advertising appeals promise personal success in a career, opportunities to obtain an education, and a profession. Accordingly, we have a clearly borderline case when the boundary between different types advertising runs along the edge of a knife: it is clearly political, because it enters differently into the political programs of different politicians; but it is also social, since it ensures the interests of society in the very important segment of protecting society from external enemies; it calls for the defense of the fatherland - and therefore social; promises benefits from acquiring a specialty for the least protected groups - here it performs social functions; but it says nothing about the risk to life involved in this choice. And then – what is she like?

Social advertising is a type of non-commercial advertising aimed at changing models of public behavior, drawing attention to the most pressing problems of society and its moral values. The mission of social advertising is to change behavioral patterns in society.

The main customer of social advertising is the state, since, due to its inherent functions, it must deal social policy. Also non-profit or public organizations may also be interested in placing social advertising. Another advertiser - it’s not strange commercial organizations. In this case, social advertising, as a rule, is a component of their PR strategy aimed at establishing favorable relations with their target audience.

Social advertising in Soviet times was of a political nature, it was not particularly diverse, it was politicized, but, according to experts, it was different high quality. Social advertising at that time was used to perform informational, image, and communication functions. A special role was given to the tasks of propaganda and education, which in Soviet times were among the most important.

Starting from the 20s, the main topics were war, the fight against dissidents, famine, the ideas of communism; its carriers were posters.

At the end of the 50s, a political thaw set in, and the direction of social advertising changed slightly - it became less ideologically charged, and it began to better meet not only the needs of the party, but also the citizens themselves.
New topics have appeared: healthy lifestyle, physical education and sports.

Since the 90s, life in Russia has been saturated, on the one hand, with an avalanche of democratic elections, many of which were held for the first time in our country, and on the other hand, it coincided with the most difficult, crisis stage in building new economic relations. During this period, social issues: unemployment, non-payment of wages, pensions, social benefits, illness and even hunger - became the number one problem for most Russians. The time has come when these problems come to the forefront of the advertising space and become an independent type of communication. The topic of combating drug addiction and AIDS, smoking and alcoholism, emergency prevention, domestic violence, the responsibilities of citizens and their rights, abortion, and the personal safety of citizens are also actively discussed.

Modern media of social advertising are such media as the press, printing products, advertising in electronic media (on radio and television), outdoor advertising, online advertising, online advertising cellular networks(SMS mailings), mailings, advertising design of transport.

The role of social advertising is undeniably very great. It awakens in a person the concepts of morality and morality, pushes people to think, forces them to act, draws attention to the most significant problems and encourages everyone not to remain indifferent to their lives and the lives of other people.

Creating social advertising that can resonate with people is a very difficult task. After all, the idea of ​​social advertising is to change a person, and this, as we know, is not easy. In this sense, commercial advertising attracts more attention. Selling is much easier than trying to improve the world.

Social advertising on modern stage development takes up only 1% advertising market. But this does not mean that the need for it is also small. On the contrary, according to the results of a study by the Union of Social Advertising Creators in Russia, 72% of survey participants have a generally positive attitude towards social advertising; 44% believe that social advertising can influence the solution of society’s problems, and 68% of respondents even criticize the state for poor propaganda of national values, primarily spiritual and moral ones.

On this basis, the question arises why the space for social advertising is so small.

• Lack of a clear regulatory mechanism
• Quality of social
• Low awareness
• Taxation

Lack of a clear mechanism for regulating social advertising.

The Russian social advertising market is not developed because it is decentralized. Foreign experience shows: only in countries where social communications are regulated by special state or public institutions do they exist and work successfully. Thus, in the UK, social advertising issues are not regulated by law. The advertising itself is ordered by the government and financed from its budget. The authorities are not trying to force the media to place social advertising for free. For example, the Air Force Corporation has a special clause in its charter regarding the placement of social advertising. In Russia, the social advertising market is practically not regulated. Federal law“On Advertising” contains a large number of gaps, while at the same time being the only legislative act regulating advertising, including social advertising.

Solution: complete improvement of legislation regarding social advertising.

Quality of social advertising.

According to the general opinion of professionals, most social videos, in terms of creative implementation, cannot be compared with commercial advertising. The state forces advertising agencies and the media to work on the creation and placement of social advertising for free - therefore, they receive a low-quality product. In Russia there is no special coordinating body in this area, no policy, no specific program.

Low awareness of social advertising, as a result, its low effectiveness.

Ministries order advertising campaigns extremely rarely and unsystematically, because there is neither a clear concept of what topics and to what extent should be covered, first of all, nor money for production itself. Often, social advertising in Russia often fails to reach its addressee.

Solution: motivating advertisers and any organizations in general to place social advertising. For example, hold any annual competitions on various topics of social advertising, pay bonuses for orders, creation and placement of it.

After analyzing the advertising law and the Tax Code, I identified the following problem. Placing any advertising (including social advertising) is a service. And the provision of services in Russian legislation defined in the Tax Code 38 and 39 articles, therefore social advertising is an object of taxation.

Tax problem

In terms of social advertising, there are two taxes - income tax and value added tax. There is one caveat to VAT that the media tends to forget: we have a special exemption for charitable activities. In article 149 Tax Code it is written that the gratuitous provision of services within the framework of charitable activities is not subject to VAT. If social advertising hits this target, then VAT is not paid. But if not, then negative consequences arise: the irreversibility of paying income tax and VAT, despite the fact that there is no cash receipts from social advertising.

Decision: amendments to the legislation relating to taxation were prepared. They include a special VAT benefit for social advertising, when services for the creation and distribution of social advertising, regardless of whether it is a charitable activity or not, will not be subject to VAT. Amendments to Article 25 of the income tax provide for exemption from taxation of conditional income from gratuitously received services and property rights relating to transactions related to charitable activities and social advertising.

From all this we can conclude that social advertising should be increasingly introduced into our lives; It is necessary to create special institutions that regulate social advertising, set its main trends, and cover the most important topics. Certain rewards should be introduced for this type of activity, rather than forcing agencies to work for free. It is imperative to increase the share of social advertising videos on television, as this is the most effective source of its coverage. I believe that this type of advertising (especially in the form of videos) has the potential to influence the culture of our country more than anything else.

• o Firstly, a comprehensive technology for diagnosing, preventing and solving many social problems has not been developed.
• o Secondly, at the level of legal regulation advertising activities There are a number of problems and contradictions.
• o Thirdly, there are no mechanisms for optimal interaction between participants in the social advertising market: customers, producers and consumers.

Production of social advertising is one of the elements social responsibility. The degree of responsibility in social advertising is extremely high, since advertising can have the opposite effect. When advertising cars or food products, if they fail, consumers will not buy them and the companies will suffer losses. In social advertising, many of the topics that are touched upon are related to human life, especially advertising against AIDS, drug addiction, etc. In all Constitutions, human life is declared as the main value. However, at present in Russia there is still no state concept for the development of social advertising; one-time campaigns are not supported by noticeable government support.

There is not enough support for those agencies that deal with social advertising topics. There are no benefits for placement on air. As a rule, social advertising is placed in broadcast “holes”. There is no need to talk about any media planning in the broadcasting of social videos at the federal level. Social advertising exists on a residual basis.

• o Nobody wants to do it;
• o no one wants to pay for it;
• o no one needs it (social advertising).

At the same time, paradoxically, a fairly large number of enthusiasts care about social advertising and organize all kinds of festivals and competitions. Out of an altruistic desire to make the world a better place, or out of a desire to show oneself as socially oriented. Social advertising also comes to life during various national holidays, carrying out an educational and pedagogical impact on the people. I don’t want to give examples of this reckless waste of creative energy and government money. I want to figure everything out.

Before and after the revolution (1917), there was no social advertising. There was a promotion of all sorts of ideas from monarchist to communist. Until 1992, ideas were promoted, and then they were cut off. Well, it was not very clever to engage in agitation and propaganda during the emergence and development of capitalist relations. Thousands of highly qualified political propaganda specialists were left out of work. It was then that social advertising was apparently invented, as the antithesis of commercial advertising.

Let's remember the early 90s. Learned people, and with them everyone else, sought to quickly renounce the old world and shake off its ashes from their feet. To quickly forget propaganda and replace it where it is absolutely impossible to avoid promoting ideas (for example, in politics) with technologies for manipulating mass consciousness. The end of this phenomenon is known.

The state has withdrawn itself from promoting its own state ideas, society has been left without an instrument of influence on its members. Social advertising has acquired the form that it now has. Moneyless and useless.

It's sad, but not everything is as bad as it seems. It is enough to look a little more broadly at the phenomenon of social advertising, accept the promotion of ideas as the promotion of a specific product, and everything falls into place. It is enough to understand that commercial advertising promotes what can be sold for money - goods and services, and social advertising (since there is such a term, let's use it without multiplying entities) promotes ideas.

We live in an information, post-industrial society, whether we like it or not, which means someone must promote virtual ideas that do not bring immediate profit. National idea, way of life, folk traditions. Important things, without which society turns into a crowd. Here, as when building any communication strategy, there are no trifles. Everything works to promote the idea. Toys and children's books, style of behavior and clothing, words of everyday language. If you think about it with an open mind, you can say “YES” to social advertising three times:

• o when the goal of promotion and target audience determined;
• o when the methods and methods of promotion are clear;
• o when this work is paid;

then all the “NOTs” fade into the background.