Research, however, is worthless if you don’t apply it to your campaign strategies. Here’s a spec analysis of a recent climate change ad, with a focus on applying insights from recent findings.

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Ad Title: “You can help. Stop global warming.”

Overall Message?
Compel action by invoking emotions of sympathy and moral concern by highlighting the dire, unjustified, and desolate circumstances our actions (and subsequent inaction) will create for polar bears. We are — quite literally —tossing them out into the streets.

What research can we draw upon?

• Ad is focused heavily on “Care/Harm” moral foundations (as per MFT). This strategy of awareness not only fails to communicate “conservative-leaning” moral concerns necessary to ignite the moral/political willpower of nearly half the country, but also may increase the political divide on the issue. (See “The Moral Roots of Environmental Attitudes, Feinberg & Willer, 2012)
• The use of a polar bear as the victim may increase the likelihood that a “Boomerang Effect” will occur among conservative/Republican viewers, as a non-human species whose habitat is quite literally the North Pole would adequately count as a “high social distance” victim. (See Boomerang Effects in Science Communication, Hart & Nisbet, 2011)
• It might be safe to assume no one purposely leaves their lights on to intentionally ruin the habitat of a cute, cold-climate animal. Therefore, the psychological flaw of “Blamelessness of Unintentional Action” could also be said to be present within this messaging campaign. (See Climate Change and Moral Judgment, Markowitz & Shariff, 2012)

What improvements can be made to expand messaging reach?

• Include “conservative-leaning” moral concerns, such as “disgust sensitivity” to increase the likelihood climate action will be seen as a moral imperative by more than just environmental advocates and liberal-leaning audiences  (See Climate Change and Moral Judgment, Markowitz & Shariff, 2012)
• Instead of framing action as a way to avoid the negative consequences of climate change, frame climate action as a means towards social betterment. When individuals perceive climate action as a way to improve their communities, societies, and surround worlds, they’re more willing to act as environmental citizens — regardless of existing belief in climate change. (See Promoting Pro-Environmental Action in Climate Change Deniers, Bain, Hornsey, Bongiorno, & Jeffries, 2011)