Bhopal Medical Appeal: At a time of crisis, Bhopal's clinics give back something beyond price

by Ken Burnett

In this time of crisis, these newspaper and magazine ads by the Bhopal Medical Appeal return the love they received from their donors 25 years ago.

Press ads can still deliver the goods

by Andrew Papworth

These days it seems that press advertising has been sidelined and disregarded as yesterday’s medium. But, says Andrew Papworth, properly used the press can still be extremely potent. If you have enough skill and determination you can create a very special and deep relationship with the reader.

It’s the picture not the frame

by Lyndall Stein

‘When I saw the three-year-old Aylan Kurdi, I was petrified. [He] ... was lying lifeless face down in the surf, in his red t-shirt and dark blue shorts folded to his waist. The only thing I could do was to make his outcry heard.’ Nilufer Demir, photographer, on why she released the photo.

But was she right? Read Lyndall Stein on why we fundraisers shouldn’t shrink from the challenge of using powerful images to change the world.

At last, some genuinely fresh thinking in press advertising from a charity

by Andrew Papworth

Discover what’s so special about this ad from Sightsavers that it made Andrew Papworth go ‘Wow!’

Imperial War Museum: Indra Sinha’s Eric Heaton ad, from 1985

by Carolina Herrera

This is a classic press ad from advertising legend Indra Sinha that helped mend a leaky roof. It’ll have you in tears too, as it shows you how to tell a good story.

Amnesty International press advertisement - North Korea’s death camps

by Ken Burnett

A challenge. Start reading. If you make it to the end you’ll know what to do next.

Bhopal Medical Appeal: press advertisements

by Indra Sinha

On one awful night in 1984 the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, India exploded sending clouds of poisonous gas across the city that would kill tens of thousands of people and inflict misery and suffering on future generations. Thus began the Bhopali people’s search for justice and treatment, which led to the founding of the BMA, whose advertisements have become the symbols of a crime that, more than 25 years later, still inflicts unimaginable suffering and still goes unpunished. The Bhopal Medical Appeal campaigns to change this, through its fundraising.

How to advertise for funds off-the-page. Part 2

by Andrew Papworth

It is always important to have a banker advertisement that you know you can rely on. This is an advertisement that has proved itself over time to be consistently reliable. But that alone is not enough. Your banker advertisement will inevitably start to decline at some point, even to become ineffective.

WWF UK: ‘Year of the Tiger’ Christmas appeal 2009

by SOFII

This campaign was wildly successful. It is an excellent example of how one appeal, with an urgent and compelling message, can be tailored to fit different types of donor. It is also integrated fundraising at its best.

How to advertise for funds off-the-page. Part 1

by Andrew Papworth

Papworth’s principles of press advertising

Part 1: How fundraising ads work

British Heart Foundation: the poster series

by SOFII

A great series of posters from the British Heart Foundation with both public education and awareness messages.

‘Who says that, these days, off-the-page donor recruitment can’t be massively profitable?’

by Ken Burnett

This candid exposé shares with you the inside story of a remarkable acquisition success, though it took such to-ing and fro-ing to achieve it that SOFII lost one of its star acts for the epic Once Upon I Wish I’d Thought Of That. Despite this sad story Indra Sinha’s experience shows that a former fundraising faithful is far, far from finished. And that fine writing is still worth its weight in gold.