I’ll Get The COVID-19 Vaccine And A Flamingo Shaped Helmet

Do we need better ad campaigns to reach herd immunity?

Photo by Rafael Garcin on Unsplash

On the road to my workplace hang posters of the European ad campaign for COVID-19 vaccination. They portray a rugby player who “takes it for the team”, and a teacher that gets vaccinated because she cares for her students. The final message: getting vaccinated is more of a moral duty than an individual health decision.

Isn’t it a terrible marketing strategy?

Most ad campaigns for the COVID-19 vaccine are based on risk communication. Spokespeople are scientists and physicians. They talk about the vaccine being safe and its success rates in avoiding contagions.

The recent campaign by the Australian Government is a perfect example of it:

In this brief spot, there are three important messages:

• the community needs people to get vaccinated (it’s for “US” to live more freely);
• the COVID-19 vaccine qualifies as a safe medical treatment;