For Giving Tuesday, U.N. Foundation Takes a Page From Retail Ads

Ahead of Giving Tuesday, the United Nations Foundation is co-opting the holiday advertising circular to promote “gifts people really can’t live without.”

Stuffed inside The Deseret News, Miami Herald, San Francisco Chronicle, and Washington Post will be a bold four-page insert promoting a wide range of charities and causes.

The ad borrows the language and aesthetics of retail advertising. “Let’s make the amount of disease and suffering in the world LOW LOW LOW!” it reads. “POVERTY. DISEASE. FAMINE. EVERYTHING MUST GO!”

Giving Tuesday, which marks its fifth year next week, is timed to piggyback on Black Friday and Cyber Monday as a counterpoint to holiday consumerism. The U.N. Foundation was one of the giving day’s founding partners.

“We’re trying to show people that there are creative ways to spend their money and give back around the holidays,” said Aaron Sherinian, chief communications and marketing officer at the U.N. Foundation.

“The Giving Tuesday movement is as much about disrupting the way we think about philanthropy as it is about having the creative license to try something new,” Mr. Sherinian said.

The circular will appear in the four newspapers beginning Saturday and continuing through Giving Tuesday on November 29. It will also be available digitally to catch the attention of Cyber Monday shoppers.

Sense of Urgency

While charities must be sensitive in thinking about how they present beneficiaries’ lives, Mr. Sherinian said he hopes the ad presents serious causes in a lighthearted way while raising awareness of humanitarian crises that require immediate support.

“We have nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to these NGOs showing urgency,” he said. “I hope it makes people think twice and sends a message that we need to communicate carefully but also with gusto.”

Feeding America, Girl Up, the National Geographic Society, Oxfam America, and Save the Children are a few of charities that the circular promotes.

A disclaimer in fine print at the bottom captures its spirit: “Warning: This is not your usual shopping advertisement. Did this ad make you look twice? Good, that’s our point. This ad is meant to spark conversation, spur action, and support good. Show you are someone who gives back and not just someone who buys stuff.”