Darfur Troubling to Ad Execs

Oscar-winner and Darfur activist, Mira Sorvino, hoped there would be more involvement from advertising campaigns in representing the problem of the genocide in Darfur. Sorvino, also a goodwill ambassador for Amnesty International, was part of a panel discussion where she explained that among advertising, other media outlets need to get involved.

During Advertising Week, held in New York from Sept. 24-28, Sorvino called upon marketing professionals to reach out through the media to help end the ethnic killing in Sudan’s Darfur region. Sorvino hopes to get the word out by going right to the message experts, the ad community, she wants them to look upon the long-suffering populace there as a client, and design powerful campaigns to help them.

Problems?

Graphic images from the hell that is Darfur could create a problem for advertising companies.

Sensationalism is another dilemma for these companies. If they come off too sensationalist with international crises, they will lose credibility in the field.

So, on one hand, we have 400,000 dead and dying against the sensibilities of advertising companies and their reputation.

Maybe we can take the pictures of the famine victims and Photoshop them so they look healthier. Then we can airbrush food, water and medical supplies into the barren refuge camps. All we will need is an uplifting theme song from Disney and we can make a movie.

This makes me ill . . .

Tags: Darfur, nira sorvino, advertising week, no darfur ad campaign