I do feel intense sorrow for the difficulties that must come into the lives of those with severe hairlips - especially in the 3rd world. I am really quite glad that there is a charity designed to do something to minimize the negatives that seem to come so often to those so impacted; it really is quite a noble effort and I wish them great success.
As one who works in marketing, I understand that people will not often go out of their way to look up different products, services, ideas, and charities to give money to. Indeed, the purpose of advertising - a subset of marketing - is to gain compliance of some sort via a persuasive message of this, that, or the other variety. I have learned - and there are few things I consider "law" in the realm of marketing, but this is one - that if people have any discretion over whether or not to consume marketing, they will not do it. It follows then, and I believe this to be another "law", that all marketing is necessarily coercive. Marketing cannot succeed if that success depends on the consumer electing to consumer it - they simply will not do it anywhere near the scale required to make any campaign succeed.
For that reason, marketing must be interruptive to initiate the process of awareness creation, interest generation, consumption intent, trial, and ultimately, brand loyalty. It absolutely must. Whether it is the Duke Boys initiating the jump over Pusser's Creek and then being paused in mid-air for the pithy Waylon voiceover, and then - BAM! - commercial break! Will they make it? You won't know until you see the ads. I think y'all know what I mean. No huge discovery here. I am only going through all of this because I understand how these things work, I have participated in it (maybe someday we can chat about the how's & why's - I don't really feel any particular guilt), and I understand there is a whole Pot -v- Kettle subtext to any griping I do.
But I am going to gripe, grouse, and even groan a little at the fact that this very difficult photo of these children with very cleft palates has been following me. Worse, it always seems to work its way into my brain at the exact moment that I do not want any of that space used for the retention of this type of image. Tonight, after a fairly grueling flight to NYC from San Fran, I saw it as I rounded the corner after getting on the LIRR train at JFK to head into the city. I was tired, groggy, and actually in a fair bit of discomfort. (While the landing itself was amazing, the runway was not visible until we were right on it - I am still amazed by flight and have nothing but the highest esteem for pilots who take responsibility for al the lives on their planes and execute such beautiful landings with only their instruments to guide them...it amazes me no matter how many times I see it happen. Anyway...) The weather in NYC was such that we had to circle for nearly an hour after getting across country. The plane was packed the gills, my seat neighbor apparently owns neither toilet paper or a tooth brush, and I just wasn't feeling good - this was my 3rd cross-country flight in 6 days.
To be tired of lugging luggage, knowing I am headed for a night where I can't sleep on local time (especially after dozing for much of the flight), and to have a morning meeting of some import way out in NJ the next morning make the perfect ingredients for me to be in a state of heightened aggravation. I was just plain pissy and totally wallowing in it. I realize this is my own doing, but still, coming into the LIRR train and seeing that photo just f'ing stuck me like a dagger. I feel guilty to be whining about that when those kids clearly have WAY worse problems than I do, but I really did think to myself "why am I seeing this?" If I were an LIRR commuter getting on the train some cold morning, I am pretty sure I would feel no happier about it. One need not be at the tail end of a pain-in-the-ass cross-country trip to be able to be shocked and disturbed by that shot. Even the mundane commute is aggravating enough that I think that picture has disproportionate shock value simply by virtue of where it is placed.
I am soft, y'all know that. I donate to a handful of charities here and there, and in doing so, I find myself on many other mailing lists. This photo, or one just like it, has been in mailings I have received at home. I even remarked about it once to a friend...to come home after having a bummer of a day, to finally be home and able to relax, then to open the mail and be hit with that really just plain sucks. It sucks because the plight of those children is a total and 100% downer. To see them makes me feel as if all the stresses of my day are total bullshit, and by extension, my existence must be. Am I supposed to take heart from this? Ha! The opposite has been the case; and yes, that has happened on more than one occasion.
All I am doing here is bitching, and it really makes me look petty and self-absorbed. I am well-aware of this. I am sure I will live to regret writing about it while still peeved. Sigh. I look like a dick because (1) This is a legit problem, well worthy of a charity, (2) If I had to raise funds for this charity, I would look at these photos as totally legit "assets", (3) The charity does need to market to solve the problem, (4) The ad is probably effective for the very reasons it disturbs me, (5) I can't think of any other way for them to advertise this problem and their solution since this is how awareness is raised, and to not try and do what is most likely to work would be wasteful for a charity, and (6) Do I really need to worry about this considering all the other problems I could have?
Ugh. I think the only way to purge myself of the guilt over being pissed about this ad is for me to donate. I likely will have to do this. I guess the world comes with the simple burden of accepting the best efforts of those who must advertise. The ads on the train probably offset a good deal of the costs of operating the train. Lord knows how many people & businesses just expect advertisers to step in and be the source of cash for whatever project it is that they want to see brought to life. The market has decided to make the advertiser the great benefactor, and since I can't single-handedly reorganize the world to my taste, I am going to simply need to be ready, at literally any time, for any thing, since I know the way it works, and "the way it works" puts clothes on my back.
Sigh. My spleen is purged. Tag...you're it.