It’s time that we stop begging people to take care of the environment.

Some people don’t even care, or maybe others are too lazy to get informed about the damage we are capable of causing to the planet and us when not taking care of our actions and decisions. Asking people to recycle, to not throw trash in the ocean or in the streets is not useful anymore; everyone asks for it so much, that we don’t even pay attention anymore to those requests.

Signs and campaigns like this one:

were probably effective 8 years ago. Today, we need to stop begging and start showing how not caring directly affects each one of us.

This ad from Surfrider Foundation has a number of key elements that make a good call to action for everyone out there. Let’s analyse it.

1. It has a great catch line: mentioning the word “YOU” makes the message much more stronger due to the fact that it’s directly talking to the reader and makes them feel more involved in whatever the message has to say.
2. It’s relatable: people know sushi and how it is supposed to look. This is not sushi that we would it because we know those ingredients are not good for our digestive system or don’t even taste good. By relating something we know (sushi) to something we don’t totally get yet, or are not totally aware of, (consequences of throwing garbage to the ocean) it makes the message so much stronger and it shows directly how if we don’t do what the message is asking for, we will be affected.
3. It leaves a stronger impact: by using fear to make audiences aware, the emotion is stronger than if a positive connotation was used. Our brains tend to be more attentive to negative stimulus like fear and that helps to convince people to take action: “if you don’t take care of the ocean, this bad thing will happen to YOU”
4. Contains more detailed information: for those who want to know more and make the time to read the whole ad. It also includes the logos of the association in case they would like to contact them.