There will always be the exception, where a creative idea is so unexpected that it remains powerful, such as the anti-smoking TV ad that shows toddlers breathing out other peoples' smoke, but each time we see it we are that much more resistant.
The harsh reality is that we are inundated with charity appeals that expect us to act because of our supposed horror, fear or guilt. But it has become formulaic and does not cut through as it once did. To win my attention and, most importantly, my action, the communication, whether it is a TV ad or a piece of direct mail, needs to behave differently from its many competitors - just like in any other category of marketing.
This is the reason for my concern with this door-drop for Cancer Research UK. The headline reads like a typically snappy charity line, just like so many others. So why should I respond to this one rather than them?
Nor does the ashtray visual contribute any original insight or point of difference that might make me sit up and take notice.
Yet there is a hook lurking in the (admittedly well-written) copy that is not evident from the front. The charity is not asking for my money, but for a minute of my time - to fill out a card lobbying the Prime Minister.
Ah, now - that's different.
It's a shame that it's not immediately grabbing, as I am on its side.
Thankfully, I have not had to put up with having other peoples' smoke fill my lungs in an agency for years. Why should someone have to put up with it just because they happen to work in a pub?
It can be easy to slag off other people's work but considerably harder to solve what is undoubtedly a very tough challenge. I don't wish to be uncharitable toward Cancer Research UK, which does so much that so many of us may benefit from, but I am afraid that this piece is so successful in trying to be a charity mailing that it ultimately fails to surprise, let alone shock me into action.
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