Writing in Fundraising Success recently, Angie Moore riffed off an article in Fast Company titled, The Rise of Sadvertising: Why Brands Are Determined to Make You Cry.

At the top of her piece, Angie wrote: “…you would think emotional advertising is something new. I’m not making fun of the article — I actually found it very interesting — but I did find it humorous that this seems like something new when fundraisers have known this for a very long time.”

My first reaction was … only some fundraisers, Angie. Still, as I read further into Angie’s article, my reaction also was … what’s the news here?

So, because I believe commercial advertising creatives are a clever breed (if sometimes too clever), I decided to check out the Sadvertising article for myself, and I’m glad I did. Warning: the article is full of embedded videos, plus links to excellent resources (like this piece on market research), so it might take a few extra moments to download. But it’s worth it. Look at Sadvertising when you have some extra time to spare.

The article poses and answers this question: “So what the hell is going on? Never in our collective memory has there been a time in which ads — whose purpose is to make people positively inclined toward a brand and, ultimately, to sell products–have left us feeling all the feels.”

If you do even the basic pop psychology reading on how our brains work, you won’t find Sadvertising breaking new ground in neuromarketing. It’s not a science piece.

What I enjoyed were the examples.

Make sure you have some tissues handy. Some of the examples will doubtless strike you as manipulative or cloying.

But I guarantee you’ll be inspired to ask: Why can’t we tell our story that powerfully?!

One adman is quoted thus: “I suppose it’s about the maturing of the consumer society. Once you’ve got the things you need and then you’ve got most of the things you don’t need but desire, then you start looking for slightly deeper layers of meaning.”

Isn’t that where and why fundraisers should easily trump commercial marketers?

Giving provides meaning. The best fundraising should offer meaning … and surely has plenty of opportunity to do so.

Tom

P.S. Be truthful now, watch these videos and don’t try to tell me you didn’t shed a tear! With a daughter off to university not too long ago, my downfall was Origami, pitching a chewing gum for god’s sake!