Ads that make you want to do "the right thing"

As a loyal DVR customer for almost five years now, I very rarely watch commercials. And now I'm so convinced of the time I save by skipping commercials, I feel almost guilty about just sitting there while they're on. But when we lost power in half our condo last week, I reluctantly watched my Thursday lineup (The Office and 30 Rock) on the TV without that blessed fast forward button. And I was intrigued by the theme in the ads I saw that play to people's sense of contributing to the common good.

For one, the Brita campaign for "responsible water." (All ads here.) It shows the bottle of water on the treadmill and the copy states: Thirty minutes on the treadmill; forever in a landfill. There are versions for home, the meeting, in traffic, all the places you might sip on that bottled water. Not only does it make you want to pledge to reduce waste, but you better do it with a Brita filter on your tap or a Brita pitcher in your fridge!

(Personally I alternate between my SIGG and Camelbak both with clever "green" slogans imprinted on the side. Everyone in my family got one of these two models for Christmas this year but I'm still trying to figure out how to handle my fiance's addiction to sparkling water. We recycle around 20-25 of those 1 liter plastic bottles each week!)

The other ad I saw was for a Chevrolet with the ending slogan, Drive American. I might not be remembering this right and I can't seem to google which manufacturer is trying to appeal to our sense of patriotism and duty. Anyway the specfics are irrelevant because again they are marketing the idea of helping your country by not buying a Honda or Toyota.

So how do we take the concept of "sustainable hydration" or "buying American" and apply it to what we sell? When I first started thinking about this I though that education should be easier to link because it already contributes to the good of society. It DOES improve lives and create jobs. And after further thought, I think we have been marketing this "make a difference" idea forever in education ala see the problems in this world? come to XYZ University and be part of the solution.

Keeping in mind that our target audiences are MORE socially aware than ever before, how do we shift the messaging for the investment in their education to show the benefits? Showcasing alumni? Everyone loves a good testimonial or outcomes story. We could say Impact made possible by an XYZ degree.

I'm going to go ahead and post this, even though I'm still pondering the right way to capitalize on influencing others to do the right thing...