Advocacy Advertising

You know when your TV decides to pause reruns of Big Bang Theory to make you feel bad about starving kids in Africa? That's advocacy advertising. While it may seem like a ploy to get you to pay up for the commercial-free Hulu subscription, the real goal is to get you to take up some cause, or else it's aimed at delivering a particular message.

The distinction being made runs between advocacy advertising and commercial advertising. That second category being the traditional advertising we've all learned to tune out (except when the Super Bowl comes around, of course, when instead we focus on the advertising and tune out the game).

While the most recognizable examples of advocacy advertising are those produced by non-profits meant to bring to light the troubles of disadvantaged groups, like the poor or downtrodden or cancer-stricken or pets and the like, it also includes political advertising as well, and thus ramps up dramatically during election season.