Tickling the funny bone instead of pulling on the heartstrings

What I would call "cause marketing" - anything that tries to elicit a behavioural change on a social or environmental issue - is something I've spent rather a lot of time whingeing about on this blog.
Plinky piano music, "social experiments," dubious "insights" - I have had a go at them all here.

This week, I've been pleased to see at least two ads where their creators have looked at social issues, but used real insight, cultural awareness and clever observation in the development of the creative strategy, then executed with charm and humour. One is  DIVERSish for the Valuable500, created by AMV/BBDO, above, and the other is a completely different audience and issue - Eat them and Defeat them, from ITV and Veg Power, created by Adam & Eve/DDB.



I do hope this is a change in course from that cheesy morass of sentimentality we've been seeing in recent years.