Eric Elias

Theory Application Paper

December 9th, 2016

Theory Application Event Analysis: UNICEF Philanthropic Campaign Likes dont save lives

Introduction

UNICEFs Likes dont save lives campaign was a hard hitting campaign that used guilt

and social media to encourage cash donations rather than just liking posts that take an activist

stand. It essentially calls out the people who simply talk about helping others and calls them to

action. The charity campaign features ads that incorporate the use of sarcasm, for example, an ad

on telegraph.com shows UNICEF giving the message Like us on Facebook and we will

vaccinate zero children against polio (OMahoney 2013). This is clearly bringing attention to

the fact that likes do not lead to action. After that message, there is a paragraph that explains

that UNICEF appreciates the social media popularity but would rather have people buy a polio

vaccine on their website so that they can use it to save lives of other children. The main video

that can be seen when searching for this campaign is on YouTube. The video features a

monologue of a child expressing his concerns for his and his familys health and he says he has

hope because UNICEF has 170,000 likes ("Likes Don't save Lives - UNICEF Sweden TV

Commercial," 2013). The video closes with UNICEF calling people to action to buy polio

vaccines instead of just liking a post that expresses the need for polio vaccines. Petra Hallebrant,

UNICEF Director of Communications, hopes that this campaign allows for social media to be

used for more than just raising awareness. UNICEF hopes that likes will finally be able to lead to

money (OMahoney 2013).

 Certain communication theories can be seen through this philanthropic campaign. In this

campaign, there are elements of Media Ecology Theory, Uses and Gratification theory, and

Dramatism. Media Ecology Theory is the theory that the media shapes our environment and,

pretty much, structures what we see, say, and do (Scolari 2012). It can be seen in this campaign

that UNICEF uses the idea that the media structures what we do by using media to relay their

message of calling for charitable action. Uses and Gratifications Theory is the theory that people

find ways to satisfy their need for gratification through the media (Uses and gratification theory).

In this campaign, it can be seen that UNICEF is using peoples need to feel good about

themselves on social media by calling out those who have failed to do any charitable action.

Prior to this campaign, people likely felt like they were good people by liking activist-style posts

on social media, but now they may feel like they are required to do more to achieve gratification

with themselves. Dramatism is a theory that defines human interaction as a drama. Kenneth

Burke developed it and claims that all humans are storytellers. Burke believed that the

guilt/redemption cycle is the central motive for all symbolic activities (Kenneth Burkes

Dramatism). UNICEF definitely plays the guilt card in this campaign. They call out people who

think of themselves as activists to do more.

Media Ecology Theory

Media Ecology Theory can be seen throughout this campaign. Marshall McLuhan

developed this theory. McLuhans theory examines the influence that the media has on human

value, understanding and perception (Scolari 2012). Social media, in this case, has shaped people

in to what UNICEF has called slacktivists (OMahony).

Social media can fool people into believing that they are being activists by liking,

sharing, or posting posts that bring awareness to world issues. UNICEF made this campaign to
try and change that. UNICEF, however, does not want to change how media influences people,

they want to change the influence that it has. Through the campaign, Likes dont save lives,

UNICEF uses social media to influence people into donating money to causes rather than just

social media solidarity. Assumption two of Media Ecology Theory explains that the media is

what shapes the worldviews of those who consume it (Scolari 2012). UNICEF is using media to

bring further awareness to the fact that so-called activists need to do more in order to make a

difference. In this case, making that difference would mean donating money or buying polio

vaccines (OMahony). UNICEF, in this campaign also uses social media to create the global

village that was coined by McLuhan. The global village term describes how media has made

it impossible to live in isolation and how the media ties the world together (Scolari 2012). This

campaign creates a global village by bringing awareness to countries that need charitable help.

This campaign forced people to realize that more needed to be done rather than just liking

posts. People, after seeing this campaign, would have their awareness of the world changed.

People before could have thought that they were doing enough by liking activist posts, now they

know they need to do more.

Despite being consistent with some elements of the Media Ecology Theory, the campaign

does not follow the theory completely. McLuhan argued that the medium is the message, but in

this campaign, the content is more important than the medium (Scolari 2012). UNICEF could

even be seen as trying to take attention away from the medium by calling out the ineffectiveness

of social media by saying that likes do not vaccinate kids.

UNICEF, in regards to the Media Ecology Theory, uses cool media to relay their message

as they use online ads and a video on YouTube. Cool media are low definition forms of
communication that demand involvement (Scolari 2012). They likely chose cool media because

it allows for more interaction with the audience.

Uses and Gratifications Theory

Uses and Gratifications Theory can be seen throughout this campaign. According to this

theory, people use media to fulfill their need for gratification (Quan-Haase 2010). This campaign

uses the human need for gratification by calling to question peoples values when it comes to

helping others in other countries.

Assumption One

Assumption one of the Uses and Gratifications states that the audience is active and its

media use is goal oriented (Quan-Haase 2010). People turn to media to reinforce their personal

identity or their values. Upon one seeing this campaign, they could feel that their values are

being called into question which would create a need for value reinforcement from the media.

UNICEF used this human need to make it seem as though people are not doing enough when it

comes to charitable causes. If one feels they are not doing enough, it will lead them to seek out

gratification so they can feel that their values are fulfilled. UNICEF, pretty much, uses this

campaign to give people the option to have their values fulfilled by donating money to a

charitable UNICEF cause or buy polio vaccines. This can be seen through a popular ad in the

campaign. It was mentioned earlier in the paper. This ad talks about how likes do not save kids

and calls for people to be more generous with their money, as they are with likes.

Assumption 2

This assumption states that the audience is active and will take initiative (Quan-Haase

2010). After calling on their need for value gratification, UNICEF hopes that they will take
initiative. UNICEF calls for taking initiative by providing their website as a resource to use to

buy polio vaccines in order for UNICEF to distribute to those in need (OMahony).

Assumption 3

Assumption three of the Uses and Gratifications theory states that media competes with

other sources (Quan-Haase 2010). This can be clearly seen as UNICEF is essentially competing

with social media sites, such as Facebook, by pointing out the faults of simply liking a picture,

rather than doing anything about it. These people, UNICEF, calls slacktivists (OMahony).

UNICEFs ads calling for action compete against the usual posts that call for likes and

popularity.

Dramatism

There are strong elements of Dramatism in this campaign, mainly in UNICEFs use of

guilt to make people take initiative. The guilt/redemption cycle is, according to the Dramatism

Theory, the central motive for all symbolic activities (Burke 1978). Liking posts about activism

can stem from guilt and UNICEF used that guilt to make people feel that what they were doing

was still not enough through the content in the ads and video (OMahony). The YouTube video

that launched this campaign further played on guilt of the so called haves, or privileged.

UNICEF used a have nots, the less privileged, to play on the guilt of the haves in order to

get the haves to take initiative in the form of monetary donation (OMahony). This campaign

forms Burkes pentad, which consists of the act, the scene, the agent, the agency, purpose, and

attitude (Burke 1978).

The act

The act is what a person does (Burke 1978). UNICEF is calling for people to donate

(OMahony).
The Scene

The scene is the context surrounding the situation (Burke 1978). The contest surrounding

UNICEFs situation is that people are not doing enough by simply liking posts, they need to

act on them by donating money (OMahony).

The Agent

The agent is the person or people that will be performing the act (Burke 1978). UNICEF

wants the haves, the privileged, to act and donate or buy polio vaccines (OMahony).

The Agency

The agency is the means by how the act will be accomplished (Burke 1978). UNICEF,

itself, is the agency. They are providing their website and their organization for donations

(OMahony).

The Purpose

The purpose is what the agent hopes to accomplish (Burke 1978). The agent hopes to

relieve his or her guilt by donating to the cause. They will donate through UNICEFs website

(OMahony).

The Attitude

The attitude is how the actor positions him or herself relative to others (Burke 1978). In

this case, the actor is UNICEF and their campaign. They are positioning themselves to people as

an opportunity to do more and make a difference. For the people, this is an opportunity to relieve

their guilt.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Likes dont Save Lives

To start, the weaknesses will first be highlighted. The biggest weakness of this campaign

refers back to the Media Ecology Theory. That theory discusses how the medium is the message.
That means that often times, the medium takes precedence over the content. This campaign did

not utilize enough mediums to convey its content. The campaigns content was the most

important part of the campaign but it did not have enough mediums to really spread the content.

The biggest medium they used was YouTube. This was used effectively to evoke emotion and

call people to action. UNICEF, however, should have used Facebook as a medium as well as ads

on Facebook. This would have been effective because it would have been improving the system

that UNICEF was calling out.

One of the biggest strengths of this campaign was using Dramatism to initiate action from

the audience. UNICEF really used guilt as a driving factor in this campaign. This campaign

called out slacktivists by letting them know that likes do not save lives. They made people

feel guilty that they were not doing enough and were content with that. UNICEF provided

themselves as a chance for people to redeem themselves by donating to the cause or buying polio

vaccines (OMahony). Another strength is UNICEFs use of media to shape peoples values. By

calling out those that do not donate to UNICEF, they shaped peoples values into thinking that

they needed to donate to UNICEF to make a difference in the world. That can be a very powerful

thought in a persons mind. This can lead to more donations if a person feels that donating will

help fulfill their values. This campaign was great in creating a use for people to find their

gratification. It was essentially a textbook use of the Uses and Gratifications Theory.

Conclusion

It is clear that UNICEF used several different communication theories to create this

campaign. This campaign had strong elements of the Media Ecology Theory, the Uses and

Gratifications Theory, and the Dramatism Theory. UNICEF used all these theories to try and call

people to action. They pointed out, with ads and a YouTube video, that social media solidarity is
not as good as donating money (OMahony). They used these theories to make people want to

donate to their charity and buy polio vaccines. The content was effectively communicated and

the theories were effectively used, but UNICEF would have benefitted by using more mediums

for disseminating the information.

References

Burke, K. (1978). Questions and answers about the pentad. College Composition and

Communication, 29(4), 330-335.

Kenneth Burkes Dramatism. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/~johnca/spch100/5-3-burke.htm

O'Mahony, J. (n.d.). Likes don't save lives: Charity hits out at Facebook 'slacktivists' Retrieved

from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/10041713/Likes-dont-save-lives-

charity-hits-out-at-Facebook-slacktivists.html

Quan-Haase, A., & Young, A. L. (2010). Uses and gratifications of social media: A comparison

of Facebook and instant messaging. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 30(5),

350-361.

Scolari, C. A. (2012). Media ecology: Exploring the metaphor to expand the

theory. Communication Theory, 22(2), 204-225.

U. (2013, April 23). Likes don't save lives - UNICEF Sweden TV commercial. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_M0SDk3ZaM

Uses and gratification theory. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://communicationtheory.org/uses-and-

gratification-theory/