Duty
Ads and videos written to this emotion: 335. 239 make the Say move, 40 make the Avoid mistake.
What it is
The pull of an obligation to people you belong to (family, country, community, faith), felt as "this is mine to do". Leaving it undone feels like guilt.
Where it shows up
War home-front posters (save fats, buy bonds, enlist), civic campaigns (save water, vaccinate, vote, register as an organ donor), zakat and Ramadan giving, a parent's duty to provide (insurance, savings, school fees).
Say
Name one act and make it easy: what, where, by when. Give the reason in terms of people the reader is already bound to (parents, children, neighbors, the soldiers at the front) and say what the act adds up to.
In the 2008 US election, phone calls that helped people plan what time they would vote, where they would be coming from and what they would do beforehand raised turnout by 4.1 points among those reached, while a standard "please vote" call had no significant effect (Nickerson and Rogers 2010, 287,228 people). Limit: the result has rarely been replicated, and a later study found planning helped only when people were also told how to vote.
In Facebook ads run in March 2020, "protect your community" drew significantly fewer clicks than "protect yourself", while "protect your loved ones" did as well as "protect yourself" (Banker and Park 2020, 25,580 people). Limit: clicks only, over two days, in one country.
Avoid
Duty enforced by shame, threat or public exposure ("slacker", "traitor", naming who has not given): it can push one visible act once, but it risks defiance and complaints against the sender. And a call with no act attached: "do your part" and nothing else.
A mailer telling Michigan voters their neighbors would see who voted raised turnout by 8.1 points, against 1.8 for a plain civic-duty reminder (Gerber and colleagues 2008, 180,002 households in a low-interest primary; the authors say they do not advocate shaming). In an experiment across 89 countries, a shaming, restrictive message did not raise intentions to comply but raised the pressured kind of motivation that went with defiance (Legate and colleagues 2022, 25,718 people, self-report).
Sources
- Nickerson and Rogers (2010). Psychological Science 21(2).
- Banker and Park (2020). Judgment and Decision Making 15(6).
- Gerber, Green and Larimer (2008). American Political Science Review 102(1).
- Legate, Nguyen, Weinstein, Moller and colleagues (2022). PNAS 119(22).
Doing it right
Ads that make the Say move.
al-Sharq Insurance Easy Policy ad, al-Kawakib 1975
It ties cover to the proverb on nearest kin and a hadith on family spending, then names one easy act: one pound a month, no medical exam, with each family payout stated in pounds.
War Savings Stamps poster for boys and girls
It shrinks the war to a child's share: Uncle Sam shows the boy a W.S.S. paper and asks only that boys and girls save their quarters for War Savings Stamps.
Al Rajhi Bank: a dependent account so kids pay with a card, not cash
The line Teach your child to manage his pocket money names one parental act and makes it easy: open a dependent account in the app for under-15s, no fee or balance to open.
A soldier's radio call answered by a woman at the set shows what her enlistment adds up to, and the poster names the step: apply at any U.S. Army recruiting and induction station.
Isis razor blades ad, al-Kawakib 1934
'Always use Egyptian razor blades' names one small act, a pharaonic goddess figure ties it to the nation, and 10 blades for 5 piastres in all shops makes backing local industry easy.
It counts the extra yield in soldiers' rations, 12 bushels of added corn fill 470 pork tins, and sends farmers to a named local adviser such as the county agent.
Isis razor blades ad, al-Kawakib 1934
A pharaoh's headdress and the goddess's name open on national pride, and the ask stays concrete: Egyptian blades from the first factory of its kind in the East, 10 for 5 piastres, sold everywhere.
Do the job he left behind poster
The stressed HE turns a factory job into holding the absent man's post while he fights, and the poster names the one step: apply at the U.S. Employment Service.
Muwasat Islamic Society hospital lottery ad, al-Musawwar 1932
It names one easy act, a 60 piastre ticket from post offices before the 31 December draw, and ties it to Egyptians building their own charity hospital so the West no longer leads.
Eat more corn, oats and rye, eat less wheat poster
A long 'eat more' list set against a short 'eat less' list makes the swap easy to follow, and TO SAVE FOR THE ARMY AND OUR ALLIES names who it is for.
Muwasat Hospital charity lottery ad, al-Musawwar 1932
Asks one easy act, a ticket sold at post offices, banks and the society's offices for the 31 December draw, and ties it to a hospital already standing that eases patients' pain.
Enlist in the WAVES, release a man to fight at sea poster
RELEASE A MAN TO FIGHT AT SEA makes enlisting a one for one swap with a sailor, and the foot names the step: the nearest Navy recruiting station or Office of Naval Officer Procurement.
تأمين العمالة المنزلية الطبي من التعاونية
It names one act, insure them now, and gives the reason in terms of people the buyer is bound to, the worker as an extension of the family, with no shaming.
It names one act, insuring the parents, ties it to people the viewer is already bound to and makes it easy with 'وانت تقدر عليها', without shaming anyone who has not done it.
تأمين العمالة المنزلية الطبي من التعاونية
It names one act, 'أمّن عليهم الآن', puts it on a single button, and gives the reason in terms of people the viewer is bound to: 'لأنهم امتداد لعائلتك'.
The latest advertisement from the Egyptian Zakat and Charity House, produced by Saadi Jawhar - Me...
It names one act and its timing, 'don't put off your zakat and charity', points to the Zakat and Charity House, and says what the act adds up to: a blessing on the giver's life.
It names one easy act, choosing Afia's bottle, and gives the reason in terms of the viewer's country and family future rather than shaming anyone who buys ordinary plastic.
It shows small, doable acts in shops, car parks and family moments, ties them to faith and nation, and says what they add up to, without shaming anyone who does not act.
Doing it wrong
Ads that make the Avoid mistake.
Five Sullivan brothers 'They did their part' poster
The underlined THEY sets five missing brothers against the reader and leaves the charge hanging: no act, place or date follows, only the hint that the reader has not done their part.
Guilt heavier than the lapse · Puts the problem on the reader
Najm: a military convoy in the side mirror, safety on the road
It names who the reader owes, soldiers facing the outside threat, but the act it asks for is only "بوعينا", awareness, a call with no concrete act attached.
Fear with no step to take
Liberty bond poster: "Buy a Liberty bond lest I perish"
The Statue of Liberty points at YOU and warns she will perish unless you buy, enforcing duty by threat, while the bond itself comes with no amount or terms.
Najm: soldiers in the rear-view mirror, safety on the road
"دورك تكمّل دورهم" is the Avoid almost word for word: it binds the driver to the soldiers but asks only that each do their part, with no act named.
Wanted for Murder: Her Careless Talk Costs Lives poster
A pleasant young woman is posted as WANTED FOR MURDER, so the rule against careless talk is enforced by branding the talker a killer, public exposure instead of an act made easy.
Guilt heavier than the lapse · Puts the problem on the reader
Najm: a squad in transit asks drivers to keep safety on the road
It gives the reason in terms of people the reader owes, "أبطالنا يدفعونه كل يوم", yet leaves the act at keeping safety on the road, a call with no specific act attached.
A black mark for the squad A.W.O.L. poster
The blank gap in the line and "A black mark for the squad" enforce the duty by exposure: the absent soldier becomes a stain his peers carry, not a man they need.
Puts the problem on the reader
Najm: the safety soldiers guarded, kept on the road
It ties the ask to people the reader is bound to, the soldiers who kept the peace, but names no act to take on the road: nothing on speed, phones or seatbelts.
Back our girls over there, United War Work Campaign poster
'Back our girls over there' calls on the reader to support the Y.W.C.A. women working beside the marching troops, but names no gift, amount or way to give.
noon: Mahali program backs local Saudi entrepreneurs
'It is great to support local entrepreneurs' over a blurred Kingdom Centre asks for support but names no seller, product or way to buy on noon: a call with no act attached.
Don't be a drip home maintenance poster
DON'T BE A DRIP pins the leak on the reader, using slang for a dull, useless person, so fixing taps is pushed by a label nobody wants rather than by what saved water does.
Puts the problem on the reader
U.S. Food Administration member card for the front window
The only act is hanging a membership card in the front window, so the pledge is kept by what neighbors can see, and a bare window marks the household that has not joined.
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