ABSTRACT
Social marketing is sorely in need of a model that would help the promotion strategist find the appropriate message appeal. Such a model would suggest when it is best to employ a factual appeal, and when to use pity, fun, shock, or healthy appeals. A principal criticism of the starving baby syndrome is that its short-term advertising objectives are only effective for emergency aid and fail to pay court to many potential long-term donors, who find the presentation distasteful. It does little to instill self-esteem, self-help, and human dignity, and merely prolongs the state of misery. It rarely touches on the fundamental causes of the problem; pity puts out fires without removing combustible materials. The chapter suggests that charity appeals would do well using a two-step campaign: a pity theme for emergency relief, followed by a rational theme to obtain long-term goals. Such an approach would be equally effective in altruistic advertising in general and in social sector in particular.
