Food For Thought: 50 Impressionable Public Awareness Poster Ads

When we think of advertisements, we tend to negatively associate them with mind manipulation of the masses for business profiteering. We tend to forget that advertisements can be used for nobler causes that deal with issues closer to home and to our hearts. I’m talking about using these ads to raise the public awareness on issues such as health, public safety, and the society as a whole.

Print ads may seem outdated in this digital era of ours, but through the careful designing of some of the most creative advertisers in the industry, these poster ads can still generate very formidable impressions upon on-lookers. We have collected 50 poster ads from the Ads of the World to inspire you further.

Editor’s Note: Take note that some of these posters may be graphic in nature. Please practice discretion.

Recommended Reading: Public Awareness Ads That Makes You Think – Part I

New Zealand Transport Agency. It Looks Small Here, Slow Down (Image Credit: Philip Andrew)

Surfrider Foundation. Beaches are home to some of the most beautiful scenery you will see on Earth, but they don’t clean themselves up. (Image Credit: Les 6)

Chemical Melting Pot. Check out how many chemicals are found in each stick of smoke. (Image Credit: Justus Luke)

Heal The Bay. Look at all the waste we create from our daily lives. Let’s watch what we throw away. Recycle. (Image Credit: Hans Castro Gallo)

Projeto Arrastao. A very telling story made with two transportation lines which represent two separate lives that crossed at a bank robbery. (Image Credit: Pedro Cappeletti, Flavio Casarotti & Augusto Moya)

Truth. Your life literally fades away with every puff you take from a cigarette. (Image Credit: Justin Hampton)

Ban Landmines. You don’t have to check for landmines in your home, but they do. (Image Credit: Gavin Whitfield & Sammy-Jane Thom)

Silence Hurts. Sometimes even though they can’t ask for help, it doesn’t mean they don’t need it. (Image Credit: Joao Espirito Santo)

Skin Color. Your skin color shouldn’t dictate your future. (Image Credit: Olivier Altmann)

Stop For Flashing Red Lights. Kids should have to brave the way to school. (Image Credit: Kevin Barclay)

Smoking in Dublin. It’s amazing how something this small can amount to such a huge problem. (Image Credit: Ger Roe)

WWF: Deforestation. With all the effortts we put into saving an endangered species, sometimes the threat may come from destroying their home. (Image Credit: Francesco Taddeucci & Luca Albanese)

Turn it Off. Sometimes, it doesn’t have to stay on. (Image Credit: Antonio Montero)

Desertification. 6000 species of wildlife disappear as desert areas grow. (Image Credit: Carlos Jorge & Felix Del Valle)

WWF Marine Protection. Somehow, corals made from plastic spoons can’t beat the originals. (Image Credit: David Guerrero)

Don’t Self Medicate. Every time you swallow a medicine without doctor’s advise, it’s like swallowing a bullet. (Image Credit: Abhay Patkar & Nitin Rajapurkar)

World No Tobacco Day. Check the calendar for the day you take a last whiff of your cigarette. (Image Credit: Marcio Ribas & Wilson Mateos)

Sleep Before You Drive. You could get killed in your dreams if you dream on the road. (Image Credit: Philip Andrew)

You Are The Key. Some ‘cages’ are not as apparent as this one. Nonetheless you still hold the key to their ‘freedom’. (Image Credit: Alvaro Becker & Francisco Cavada)

A Spark is All It Takes. Fires do not discriminate between a matchstick or a whole row of houses. (Image Credit: Merlee Jayme & Eugene Demata)

Save the Neglected. This dog and any other neglected pet could turn their lives around and start anew with your help. (Image Credit: Steve Crawford)

Don’t Text On The Road. Sometimes ‘sorry’ just won’t cut it. Don’t tempt fate. (Image Credit: Razvan Capanescu)

Sleepiness is Stronger Than You Think. When the eyelids drop, accidents may happen. Rest well before each long drive. (Image Credit: Suthisak Sucharittanonta)

White Angel Foundation. 2.7 million children in Egypt don’t have a childhood. (Image Credit: Arindam Sengupta)

Deal with the Consequences. We usually don’t think of the consequences of our actions until it’s too late. A plea to be more responsible with the environment. (Image Credit: Eduardo Almeida & Chiquinho Lucchini)

Toronto Crime Stoppers. Your tips put a face on every masked criminal. (Image Credit: Todd Mackie & Denise Rossetto)

League Against Cancer. If you detect cancer in time, you may enjoy the luxury where no one wants to steal your partner anymore. (Image Credit: Flavio Pantigoso)

Cigarettes Smoke People. Who’s in charge? You or your smokes? (Image Credit: Gaetan Namouric)

Who Will Win? A glass of wine would win hands down when you drink under the influence. (Image Credit: Diogo Mello)

Salvation Army. Donate your clothes to the salvation army and keep someone else warm. (Image Credit: Tales Bahu & Eric Sulzer)

Help Yourself. Give yourself a lift by giving them a call. (Image Credit: Ruy Lindenberg)

Good Parents? Watch your temper. If you lose it, you may lose more than you think. (Image Credit: Filip Berendt)

Get Tested. You can choose how to live your life but choose to get tested too to save it. (Image Credit: Dominique Trudeau)

Tabaconomia. Sometimes the costs are greater than just dollars and cents. (Image Credit: Flavio Waiteman)

Don’t Drink and Drive. Drinking drunk is equivalent to playing Russion Roulette, and not just with your own life. (Image Credit: Thomas Tatzl & Andreas Spielvogel)

Driving Tired Can Kill. When you need to take a break, take it. (Image Credit: Paulo Afonso)

Fire Protection. Make sure you stub out your lights. (Image Credit: Julian Watt)

Gambling Addiction. Gambling is just as addictive as smoking. (Image Credit: Dan Willey)

Everything’s Harder. A hard-hitting inside view of what Parkinson’s Disease is like. (Image Credit: Lance Martin)

Covered Up Stories. Some stories get covered up even after they’re written. (Image Credit: Alan Madill, Terry Drummond & Barry Quinn)

Stuck. Who enters drug dealing, has nowhere to go. (Image Credit: Paulo Castro)

No Place For Smoke. Feel trapped by the smoke? People around you may be. (Image Credit: Alexandre Gama)

Losing Part Of Me. These Matryoshka dolls help tell a story that is hard to tell. Stop child prostitution. (Image Credit: Andrew Clarke)

Fishing. Predatory fishing doesn’t only threaten ocean life. (Image Credit: Flavio Medeiros, Luis Christello & Kike Borel)

Saving the Endangered. Pandas aren’t the only endangered species that need saving. The bluefin tuna is endangered too. (Image Credit: Stuart Mills & Anthony Tham)

Living In Harmony. We can make good music together. (Image Credit: Ergin Binyildiz & Mustafa Baripoglu)

Basic Necessities. Not everyone has easy access to what we take for granted every day. (Image Credit: Roger Tavares)

Life is That Expensive. That’s a little too much, isn’t it? For some people, life is just that expensive. (Image Credit: Walid Kanaan)

Mashup Intersection. Extreme black humor at play here. (Image Credit: Damon O’Leary)

Not a Cool Brand. Dog-walkers, clean up after your dogs. (Image Credit: Matija Vujovic)