By Leonore Leitner

Goodvertising on it’s rise

Goodvertising – it seems bigger than just a trend. Brands trying to use their power for good or for socially beneficial causes. Too often it’s very forced and not authentic at all. The kind of advertising that makes you cringe. If their attempt to make them seem more buyable isn’t authentic, it just seems like the worst way of trying to make them look better.

Still, more and more brands are realising that especially young people really do care and rather spend a bit more on truly sustainable companies, or brands that stand for something. 
I think uprising ad agencies like uncommon or revolt are proof of that. Agencies that are different to what used to be the norm of advertising. They know that brands not only need to communicate – they need to be relevant to people and create change in this culture.

Some alumni also told me that this shift didn’t only happened in the industry, but also in SCA. While some years ago most students wanted to ‘simply’ sell stuff, now it seems like so many teams search for social causes brands could be the solution to. I don’t know if it’s true that this rise of goodvertising only started happening recently, but it sounds credibly.

I do think there is a genuine beauty in just selling things – creating stories and giving people a reason to choose what they choose. It’s difficult and fascinating. But it just happened that Coco and I are so drawn to the social good. 

We just can’t stop doing campaigns that help a social cause. Although I do enjoy creating classic communication campaigns, the ones I’m really attached to are the ones that really put meaning to something. More meaning than just a funny idea. The ideas that are solving a real problem. And as we are always searching for insights and peoples problems, this connection seems very coherent.

Maybe I’m also more drawn to them because I started questioning what I spend my time with again. Why am I so obsessed with advertising. Something nobody really cares about. Why am I obsessed with winning awards nobody outside of the industry cares about. Why do I want to be the best at what I’m doing, if the only people that appreciate it and see the beauty in it are the one’s also working in advertising themselves. It all seems like a huge circle of pleasing each others egos over great work. 

Am I just trying to put meaning into the things I do, so I can subconsciously tell me that what I’m doing all day long can have a bigger meaning than just helping brands to sell more products? Probably. But maybe one day something I create will really make a difference in one way or another. 

I don’t want to forcefully connect a brand to a timely social cause, obviously not every brand or product is suitable for them. But I want to create things that mean something, not only to people who know what the parameters of great advertising are.

That’s not a new realisation for me, but it gets more and more relevant as we soon have to work towards the one agency we want to start our future in.