Amnesty International UK: press ads that shook a nation

These advertisements shook the conscience of a nation.
Over their breakfast tables and on their way to work millions of ordinary people all across the land read these graphic accounts of suffering and betrayal. Thousands immediately joined Amnesty International to compel their complacent political leaders to take human rights seriously. Click here to see two advertisements from this series, added later by the fundraiser who commissioned them.

Click on the image of each individual advertisement to download a pdf copy of each ad.

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SOFII's view

These ads changed the political shape of Britain, raised social consciousness generally as well as concerns for human rights in particular. I read one of them at the time and joined Amnesty directly as a result (it was the ad that takes a pop at Margaret Thatcher). Once again, Indra Sinha shows that he is the master of long copy fundraising ads. The art director on all these ads was the award-winning Neil Godfrey, Indra’s much respected colleague from CDP days. The pair still work together from time to time, with predicatably brilliant results.

Medium of communication:

Press advertising.

Type of charity:

Children, youth and family.

Target audience:

Awareness.

Country of origin:

UK.

Creator/originator:

Indra Sinha.

Name of exhibitor:

Date of first appearance:

unknown.

Summary/objectives:

This exhibit is currently homeless and is put up by SOFII because we believe that every fundraiser wherever he or she works should be familiar with these ads and what they achieved. Although from a generation ago, it would be a tragedy if these ads were not available to today’s fundraisers. This is why SOFII exists.

If you can help us to locate any background on these ads, please get in touch. See comment below for proof that the system works.

Background:

We don't have much information on this at present but the following comment from a SOFII reader is rather helpful in setting the scene within Amnesty at the time these ads appeared.

‘I was fundraising at the Irish Section of Amnesty at the time - we had great success in adapting the UK ads for Irish broadsheets - doubling our membership from one campaign alone in one year. The response rates and ROI we used to get was phenomenal - 500 per cent ROI in one case - most fundraisers would kill for direct response rates like that nowadays.’

Bruce Clark
Income Generation Manager
Skillshare International Ireland

Merits:

They show better than almost any other campaign the fundraiser’s potential to change the world.

Other relevant information:

Indra Sinha's Amnesty Ads

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 06/13/2011 - 14:00.

I will always remember Indra Sinha's tip for copywriters : "Don't start by writing. Start by feeling. Feel, and feel passionately, and the emotion you feel will come through the spaces in between the words." These ads are the testament to how strongly he felt for the cause. No wonder they worked so well.