In recognition of the International Day of Child Abuse in 2013, Grey Spain created an advertisement for Aid to Children and Adolescents at Risk Foundation (ANAR) organization. ANAR displayed the billboards in cities across Spain and were specially designed to reach children under 4.5 feet tall only, through innovative lenticular printing technique.
This ad appeared to serve two purposes for two key publics: 1) for adults, to raise awareness of child abuse in Spain and of ANAR, 2) for children, to provide a call-to-action if they are being abused. The ad was intended for “children who may be traveling with their abuser” (Lum, 2013). For children, the ad employed these attributes (someone purposefully hurting you is wrong, get help), attitudes
…show more content…
When I first saw it then, I thought it was a strong and creative ad and in analyzing it further now, the call to action for the intended primary audience was clear. During our lecture this week, an image of this ad was associated with the question of “are there some desperate situations where showing it at its reality, showing the oppressed, re-oppresses and victimizes those whom we are visualizing?”. To answer this question from a personal ethical perspective, I do not believe it did as the advertisers considered the following:
1) the medium and placement - a portrait billboard that is clearly visible at eye-level can reach both intended audiences more effectively.
2) the time and audience. To elaborate, children will most likely be walking by the ad with adults, who may not necessarily stop to look at it closely. Hence, to grab a child’s attention quicker and allow them to comprehend all of the key points directly, which states: if you are being hurt like this boy in the picture, call this number. Without the image of the boy, text alone is easy to miss. Without the text, the purpose of the number is unclear, and finally, without the number, there is no call to