I have been seeing these ads in the New York City subway now for the past month. They are colorful and clear, making them noticeable and readable – two essential attributes of an ad. And yet they fail in a fundamental way, as I (and presumably other readers) am left to wonder what this ad is for and what am I expected to do, given that there is no call to action and no motivation to find out more.
Are they looking for a donation? It seems to imply that with the slogan, KEEP IT GOING NYC. Then the ad should ask for the donation and tell what the contribution can accomplish. Or perhaps they want volunteers to affect public policy, champion a union, or achieve some other end.
I visited the website fundforpublicschools.org and found that indeed, they do want donations from private sources to help support NYC’s public schools. This is a significant change in how public education has been funded, and this ad fails to set the proper context for that understanding. For example, stating how private contributions have benefited kids’ education would be a start. In fact, it’s not clear if the 66,000 items mentioned in this ad are the result of private donations or would have happened anyway under the education budget.
WAKE UP CALL: Make sure that your ads don’t miss the opportunity to tell your story and elicit action. Run them by people who have no connection with your cause to make sure the message gets through, and be sure to include a call to action for readers to act on.