Can ads save the world?

I’ve been having an all day conversation with my best friend and constant advisor/soundboard about society’s issues and how people can change. As she said, one of the biggest issues we face is that people grow up with a sense of “I CAN DO ANYTHING I WANT, IT’s MY RIGHT”, forsaking responsibility for rights.

While I believe a great deal of rights are fundamental, such as happiness choice and speech, I do think that people should be taught to reflect on what they do, rather than just doing things because they can. I am not saying everyone is super selfish, but I do think a great deal of us forget about the impacts of what we do, especially on smaller scales.

So what can educate people? I am a firm believer that small messages can really make a difference. I have a great deal of faith in communication arts to affect people’s attitudes as much as their desire to purchase a product.

I am not an anti-consumerist, and think that ads are an interesting reflection of our times and of our culture, etc etc. So, can advertising save the world?

Here are a few campaigns that I’ve seen and found articles on:

http://www.populationstatistic.com/archives/2008/09/02/dentyne-promotes-offlining-via-gum-chewing/

I hate gum, myself, and find chewing gum rather rude, but this campaign about “making face time” has really caught my attention. It’s all about our need to be with people in a society where we spend most of our time detached, communicating at a distance.  The ads also imply that the physical distance over which we communicate on our cell phones is creating a more fundamental distance.  It made me make an appointment to see some friends from college I hadn’t seen in nearly a year…

I thought Manhattan’s mini storage ads were fantastic this past year, even though many argued against their political agendae. Their work in philanthropy also appeared in ads, inflaming more controversy, where they asked you to purchase their services and do more than save your stuff “http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/04/prweb874234.htm“

I plan to continue this, but I am supposed to being work.

As I gather my thoughts, feel free to send me some more examples.