Underground Ads (Advertising, Design & Strategy for Non-Profits

December 8th marked 29th anniversary of John Lennon’s death. As I walked to BART Tuesday night, I put on my headphones and listened to one of my favorite of his songs, God. Lennon goes through a list that covers all the bases, from religion to new age spirituality to rock and roll, and proclaims that he doesn’t believe in any of it.

Belief is big this time of year, and it creates something of a conundrum for non-believers. How do atheists address the challenge of holiday advertising? An article in the New York Times last week covered a campaign from the American Humanist Organization, which addresses the problem with kitschy holiday cheer:

One reader wrote a letter to the editor in response to the article, criticizing the ads for focusing on what sets humanists apart from religious folks. “One item of the humanist worldview,” the reader wrote, “is emphasizing the many positive positions we hold in common with a wide range of religious believers.”

In contrast to this reader, what I find most notable about the campaign is how it echoes the dominant Christmas advertising ethos in tone. It just doesn’t look that different from all the other holiday advertising I see at this time of year. I can see why the American Humanist Organization went with it; it can be strategic to tap into the momentum of a larger movement—in this case, Christmas advertising.

But it’s as if the humanists are feeling meek about atheism’s inherent edginess, and making up for it with a bland communication style. Somewhere in the creative brief for this campaign, there must have been the intention to counter Christian hegemony over the holiday season, but ultimately the ad just plays into it. Those smiling dodos in the Santa hats look like they can’t wait to hit the mall for some stocking stuffers. Is the ad trying to challenge the flock, or just join it? It’s not completely clear, but I suspect the latter.

If tapping into the predominant advertising approach isn’t the best way to stand out, what is? Can advertising be effective when it speaks to difference, rather than sameness? I think the Adidas “Runners, yeah we’re different” campaign is a great example of how it can be. Honest and funny, it isn’t shy about offending a few people, as long as it’s in service of the right message and reaching the right audience:

Good advertising is about spunk and character and a knowing wink. Like maybe a holiday ad targeting Jews that featured us eating mu-shu pork on Christmas. I don’t know what the secular humanist equivalent would be, but I do know that what the humanist ads are lacking is identity. They are wholly without culture and character, and they do not resonate. The humanism they proffer seems sterile and dry and…not very human.

Back to Lennon. I don’t think he would much like the humanist ads either. He might be saying “no” to a whole lot, but I don’t think it’s in the spirit of nihilism or atheism. His song plays as a paean to finding peace in one’s own reality, concluding, “I just believe in me. Yoko and me.” Whenever I get to that part of the song, it resonates so strongly that I get chills. And come to think of it, I feel the same way when I look at those Adidas runner ads. It’s a warm and fuzzy feeling that no Christmas jingle on the radio can replicate for me.

This holiday season, I hope we can all find inner peace and advertising that resonates.

Check out this new video about cap & trade from Annie Leonard, the woman who brought is “Story of Stuff.”

There are about as many takes on cap and trade as there are environmental groups, which isn’t surprising given the system’s complexity and multiple permutations. The big take home message in this one is that the simplicity and promise of cap and trade evaporate when we try to enact it in the real world.

Wherever you stand on cap and trade, it’s hard not to be delighted by Free Range Studio’s spunk and style. And I’m always charmed when cartoons commingle with real life. Annie Leonard is happy to hop into cartoon land to talk about cap and trade, but it’s clear that she wants it to stay on that side of the divide.