In 1978 a survey in Bombay revealed that knowledge of the causes, symptoms and treatment of cancer was abysmally low. Then the Indian Cancer Society asked my Indian partners to mount an advertising campaign. The purpose of the campaign was to change attitudes from ignorance and fatalism to understanding and optimism. Only then could people be persuaded to have regular check-ups at the free clinics of the Society. The theme was one of hope: ‘Life after cancer … it’s worth living’. The advertisements showed real people who had been cured. Within two months, the number of check-ups given by the clinics tripled. (See this page.) Two in a series of advertisements created by the Oslo office of Ogilvy & Mather on the subject of teenage alcoholism. Left The headline quotes a 14-year-old girl: ‘I vomit almost every time I drink.’ Readership was the highest ever recorded in Norway. Right The headline reads: ‘The Norwegian 16/17-year-old drank 155 bottles of alcohol last year. His parents should know the damage he risks.’ More than 70 per cent of Norwegian parents read these advertisements, and drinking among teenagers decreased for the first time in many years. Raising money Before you rush off to your favorite charity and volunteer to raise money by running advertisements, I must warn you that it is rare for any advertisement, however powerful, to bring in enough direct contributions to pay for the cost of the space.