Putting the ad in advocacy

摘要

To those of us convinced that libraries are woefully undervalued, the news that ALA has commissioned a public-relations firm to help develop a campaign to increase the public's awareness of libraries (Executive Board report, p. 112) is a promising sign. The five-year effort is expected to utilize a variety of tactics, from print and television advertisements to T-shirts and buses emblazoned with its message. The challenge to those behind the campaign will be to craft an approach that will make consumers sit up and take notice, and get them to turn off their televisions and computers--two of our most formidable competitors--and head for the library. Rather than create a campaign out of whole cloth, it's tempting to consider riding the coattails of proven successes. For example, what if one of those "Whassup?" guys dialed a wrong number, and instead of reaching his buddy he rang up the reference desk of his local library? Viewers could learn about question negotiation as the librarian tries to determine if his one-word query was a simple directional question, or if it meant he wanted to know which of his stocks had risen that day. The idea of tying ourselves to familiar commercials opens up all kinds of possibilities: We could offer our own version of the Gap ads, featuring rows of sullen young librarians--perhaps recent GSLIS grads at the Placement Center at an ALA conference--singing a deadpan version of the Police's "Too Much Information." Or the Taco Bell chihuahua could trot up to the reference desk and ask, "What's a chalupa?" DOT'S ENTERTAINMENT But looking at the results of even the most inventive advertising campaigns can be cautionary. The slick, expensive, and undeniably entertaining dom.