Monday, December 18, 2006

Christmas Charity

One of the adverts currently playing on loop on TV is the Oxfam Christmas one. You've probably seen it - "You're Gorgeous" is the soundtrack, even though the juxtaposition of that song and a goat seems somewhat incongruous. (This man may disagree).

There is one thing I wonder about the amount of money spent by charities on advertising at this time of year, though. Is this really the best use of the donations given to them? After all, to advertise on national TV is very expensive, even assuming production costs are minimal. Regardless of what you think of any charity's work, the donations that are given are assumed to go to a charitable purpose, not for the promotion of the charity on advertisements.

Surely Oxfam has a high enough profile that it doesn't need to be wasting thousands of pounds on expensive TV slots? Surely the money fulfils the aims of the charity far more if it is directed towards aid?