Goodness in Advertising

The advertising industry does not exactly spring to mind when I think of social responsibility. I assume ad-men (and women) are out to make us feel inadequate, crave things that will probably kill us and spend way too much money rather than help us lead happy and healthy lives. Needless to say, it's a surprise to hear how much pro bono work the industry takes on. According to a report from the Advertising Council, the New York Times tells us, those activities were equivalent to $1.83 billion last year alone.

Not only that, but the value of Madison Avenue's donated services and airtime rose over $300,000 in 2008 from the year before despite the economic downturn. From 2006 to 2007, on the other hand, the number had gone down. The pro bono offerings include commercials for TV and radio, print and Web ads and PR services.

While we can all probably agree that the last thing we need is more advertising, it's nice to know that there's some good being done out there in commercial-land.