Ask someone to describe a typical charity appeal and there’s a good chance they’ll describe what duckrabbit have christened the ‘Africa is f**ked, now give us your money’ approach. Misery. Guilt. Cash. Two campaigns have caught my eye for taking a different line, cutting out the pictures, the grimness and guilt and replacing them with a celebration of ‘human power’.

A positive call to action

Rather than dwelling on the problems, these campaigns assume we know them already, and focus on getting us involved in solving them.

This is exactly what Oxfam’s Be Humankind ad campaign launched with last year, through a series of colourful billboards featuring thought-provoking slogans like “Get rich quick. Give”, and a short animation that focused on the world-changing power of ordinary people. The warm and fuzzy message of the film was nicely balanced by a bit of creepy animation, although I wasn’t very keen on the oral Care Bear stare at the end. I get the symbolism, but I don’t want to vanquish injustice by vomiting freedom. Can I be empowered in a less gross way, please? Thanks.

Christian Aid’s current Poverty Over campaign makes a similar appeal based on our power to improve the world, a power which is rooted in our humanness. They add a compelling twist to the message – poverty is a problem we created, so we can end it. It does help to make their goal seem more achievable, but it’s also an unfortunate reminder that if humans weren’t so powerful there’d be a whole lot less mess to clean up now. The campaign challenges people to explain why ending poverty is impossible and then counters them with reasons why it isn’t. This is a deft bit of supporter engagement, drawing people into the debate, and radiating confidence.

Words not pictures

By using typography and simple graphics rather than photos, these campaigns can make a case for common humanity but bypass the sentimentality of the ‘holding hands around the globe’ photographic oeuvre. Watch this quietly inspiring little animation about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It’s simple, inclusive and positive, without being sickly. There’s not a human face in sight, and no soaring strings in the background – it lets the words do the work.

It is impossible to represent humankind with two or three faces, and as soon as a campaign includes an image of a person it becomes divisive: “But I’m not black / white / happy / hungry / fabulously attractive, what does this have to do with me?”

Celebrating human power

Oxfam and Christian Aid encourage participation by creating an appealing inclusive collective identity which goes deeper than asking people to become an activist – they want you to become a good human. Julie Wood, Oxfam’s director of corporate communications said about Be Humankind: “A lot of people want to see change but feel useless when faced with the issues, but we are all in this together.”

Those last six words are key to the success of this approach. By invoking a common identity that has respect and intolerance of injustice at its heart, these campaigns make change seem possible through the power of collective action. It also reaches a warm, glowing hand into our technologically insulated and community-starved 21stC lives. For anyone with a swollen social conscience like myself, it’s heady stuff.

This is a neat way of tapping into the support of people who are interested in the issues but who are apathetic, or turned off by obviously emotional charity appeals. But what about people who still need convincing that they should care about poverty or injustice? Aiming for the lowest-hanging fruit makes sense though, and I’d be very interested to know how these campaigns have performed. Go human power!