Thursday, January 31, 2008

Statutory Rape D-Cupped Right Into Our Faces.


(click ads to read copy)
The Family Violence Partnership in Milwaukee, via ad agency Serve, has launched a print campaign to, uh, lift awareness of the crime of statutory rape. Well, I guess we can give them credit for not using a too-subtle method to visualize the problem. Buuut, super-fetishizing young girls, maybe, is not the smartest approach? One other glaring mistake: the copywriter should have written another headline for the black girl ad that didn't question her brain development, yes? Here's the third ad in the campaign.
UPDATE: Somebody associated with the campaign defends it in the comments.
UPDATE: Carol Lloyd at Salon/Broadsheet did some journalism, and discovered that the ads were actually created for the United Way of Milwaukee, and have now been killed.

65 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Do they not realize that pedophiles don't fantasize about women's bodies? They like little girls the way they are. It's not that they can't get women - that purposely pick little girls and boys BECAUSE they're little girls and boys.

10:00 AM  
Blogger laia. said...

Good idea: Bad execution.

Seems like a very "college" response to a PSA project.

10:56 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That's fucked. It makes me feel creepy. Not sure who the audience is. Is it the pedos, or are they trying to raise awareness in the general population? It's provocative, gotta give them that.

10:59 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's not against pedophiles, it's against statutory rapists, who are attracted (usually) to 16 year old girls. Hence, this.

That said, gross and creepy and I seriously don't dig the copy.

12:27 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

eeeewww.

12:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

maybe someone should send a copy of the ads to the guy that knocked up jamie lynne spears

1:25 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

This is the worst PSA ever. "If you are attracted to mutant children with grotesque, malformed features, then you need help."

1:38 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The campaign is meant to get adult men's attention and make them feel creepy about targeting young teen girls for sex. Over 70% of the babies born to underage teen moms in Milwaukee are fathered by adult men 20 and over. The campaign was actually focus group tested among inner city teens and young men and older teen girls and got tremendous, almost universal response that not only would it reach young men with the message that having sex with underage teen girls is wrong, but that it would create the kind of dialog that isn't happening right now in the inner city on this subject (and that's needed).

2:15 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I like it. It's not pedo-bait -- they don't want boobs -- it's for guys who think any 12-year-old unlucky enough to have D-cups is just begging to get dragged through puberty kicking and screaming by some creepy old dude. I knew girls who looked 9almost) like this in grade 8 and the last thing they needed was unwanted attention from older men, but that's just what they got. Their bodies were literally up for grabs, through no fault of their own.

3:03 PM  
Blogger Anonymiss said...

What laia said.

4:50 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

How do we know it's a kid and not actually an adult with an underdeveloped head? …and if the person on the left is actually a child and not a woman with reverse-Paget's disease, how did she afford the Charlie's Angels® getup?

(I think stat-rape is wrong, but so are these ads.)

7:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think the headline on the second ad makes perfect sense.

8:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What the first Anonymous said. This is moronic. It's like trying to shame a gay guy by Photoshopping a penis on Jessica Alba's crotch and saying, "You got it all wrong, pal!"

12:13 AM  
Blogger King David of Wortham, DGR said...

Yeah here's the thing, they use pictures of little girls to advertise against statutory rape. That's not right. I mean these girls looked like they were 10 or 12, that's child molestation, pedophilia, and all that stuff that can be summarized with the words fuckin' wrong. But statutory rape is like the guy is 20, the girl is 17 and if you ask me there ain't nothing wrong with that. Morally that is. I mean, someone explain to me why it is wrong for a 20 year old to fuck a 17 year old but it's OK for an 80 year old for fuck an 18 year old. That's all I'm saying. Lock up the pedophiles, but let's not group every dude who has nailed a girl a couple months before her 18th birthday in the same group as those dudes on the Chris Hansen show.

1:35 AM  
Blogger Chris said...

Just give the little girls guns. That will solve everything.

9:11 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

All this arguing over crappy photoshop pics.

9:28 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sack the entire creative staff! Yes, I did read the comment from sixth anonymous from the top, but the concept is wrong at the molecular level. It winds up being like the movie Untraceable, which indites torture porn and those who love it, while, of course, containing plenty of torture porn.

1:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

#1 hit the nail on the head. Someone who's into little girls isn't into them because they're womanly or adult-like. This talks to people who AREN'T into little girls. The headline could just as easily read: Think different.

2:10 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I've read all the comments.

All valid.

Obviously the creators of the ad had good intentions. But I drop my daughter off at high school every day and too many of these 16 year old girls dress like sluts. My daughter tells me that, in fact, they ARE sluts. So maybe the ads should say something like...

IF YOU ALLOW YOUR DAUGHTER TO DRESS LIKE THIS TO ATTRACT OLDER GUYS FOR SEX, IT'S WRONG.

I'm just sayin.

3:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Texan---regardless of how underage girls dress or whether they're "sluts" or not, they don't deserve harassment and sexual assault from grown men. Rape is violence and it's wrong, period, end of story. Why is that so difficult to understand?

In fact, I'd say that the attitude reflected in your comment glaringly demonstrates the need for awareness campaigns like this.

5:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Here's a delicious pizza - now don't eat it!

12:45 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Here's a delicious pizza - now don't eat it!"

That's pedophile talk right there.

"If they didn't want it, they wouldn't be walking around with tose b cups, and those hot hello kitty purses, just prancing in front of my window, playing doctor. Oh, I'd play doctor with her ass. ANd they also wouldn't scream with delight as present myself in the window at full mast. Or was that terror? I can't remember. Needless to say, I came on the window."

I think the ad is saying is " THis is how pedos view women, this is how you should not be viewing women. They're not saying not to go after creepy photoshoped ladies, but that you shouldn't see them like this

12:14 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

ycarrington - Rape IS violence. Rape IS wrong. If you think my comment is condoning Rape, you're an idiot.

4:33 PM  
Blogger Stonecutter said...

Regardless of your personal feelings, this ad has proven to be highly effective, albeit disturbing, as it scores the highest in comments posted by a variety of blogger personalities. It seems to me that the creator's marketing objectives have been met.
Does anyone have a suggestion on how the creators could have successfully communicated the same message and received as much of a response (positive or negative) without being provocative?
Do you think the message (which is targeted at all people, not only statutory rapists) is effective/ understood?

10:34 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

This ad is only going for shock value. Whether or not it actually gets the point across is subjective, but it's working because the majority can't see outside the box.

11:01 AM  
Blogger Jennifer said...

If the ad execs wanted to get their point across, why show overly endowed preteen girls with low cut shirts and little girl hairdos? Why not show young girls that are more normally endowed for their ages? As if the only children being molested are the ones whose hit early puberty!

Wrong, wrong, WRONG. Hope some people got fired behind this.

12:01 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i like boobs

2:54 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

These ads aren't aimed at pedophiles per se. Sure, pedophiles by definition, but not the classic "dirty old man pervert".

The deal is that there is a sick ridiculous number of 14, 15 and 16 yr olds in Milwaukee having babies, and they are fathered by 23-28 yr old men. It's really sad and dumb... these are KIDS who are dropped into adulthood well before they are 21.

These little girls are not seen as overly-endowed little girls. They are seen as under-matured well endowed women.

And the sad fact is that these kids are not in the rich white suburbs or the "doing alright" areas.

There is an obvious demographic that these ads are targeted to.

I encourage people to investigate the background, think more than a little bit, find out more about the bigger story before they start tossing around righteous indignation.

8:35 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

That's just it, inhuman. If the people behind this ad had taken time to investigate the background, think more than a little bit, and find out more about the bigger story, then a better campaign could have been created.

No one is seriously arguing that men and women shouldn't prey on children who may look developed, but the ads themselves fall short of their potential.

Although somewhat provocative, they are nonetheless poorly constructed and do not serve the cause well. The ads grab attention, but it takes more than that.

While the motivation behind the ads is noble, the final product is a disappointment. Our children deserve better.

12:12 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

there's another series of super disturbing and ill-conceived ads in milwaukee that focus on teen pregnancy. these ads feature shirtless teenage boys with pregnant bellies and the copy reads something like: "it shouldn't be any less disturbing when it's a girl." something to that effect.

what is it with this town? who are the damn fools behind these campaigns?

2:06 PM  
Blogger copyranter said...

anon: I think that campaign was done by the same ad agency.

2:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I wonder if the child models for this ad campaign got a free poster out of it.

4:57 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

do the child models get a free poster out of it or what?

4:59 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

OK...I understand the message...but it's so damn creepy...

9:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sick , come on

1:32 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The ad agency that created these ads is Serve - the "public good" arm of BVK Advertising.

Gary Miller must feel pretty dumb.

1:32 PM  
Blogger Stef said...

Since when is all sex with someone under 18 "statutory rape?" That kind of over-exaggeration diminishes the importance of rape prevention in the general public's mind.

1:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Serve is a nonprofit agency that pretty much only cares about winning awards.

2:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think it's important to keep in mind who the ad is targeting and what the actual message is. The disturbing nature of the images clearly tells the target audience that simply because she "has the body," doesn't mean she is old enough to be having sex. The issue in general should make people uncomfortable, so why sugar coat the severity of the issue with a cushy ad?

Here's some video I found on Youtube from Donny Deutsch's, The Big Idea. I have to agree with him.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bnznnXww-w

4:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

First,statutory rape is illegal. Everyone should be aware of these laws.To willfully break them is an issue all in itself. The ad is trying to convey a message but the message is disturbing but it's happening in our "America, home of the brave and land of free". What kind of fucked up people do we have in this world? Yes,super psychopaths. There are so many underline issues. These people need to be helped!!!!! i.e.locked away and get psychiatric help. I can't fathom an adult having sex with a child but the sad thing is it happens. They should be ashamed to show there faces amongst the population after commiting such an act.

10:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Psychological research has already shown that Men are biologically programmed to be attracted to the bodily proportions of a fertile female. Thats been true long before laws were written making it illegal if she's under 18. No amount of PSA's or even legislation is going to change our biology. What I dont get is despite the fact that thoughout most of human history women/girls got married and had sex MUCH earlier than 18, why is that suddenly we decide that having sex that early is somehow destructive? How ever did people survive all these eons?

10:47 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I think that the concept behind this ad is good. I've read all the comments, but let me tell you that I WAS one of those "middle school hotties" and I DID get unwanted attention. I DID get taken advantage of, and I DO regret it. Just because men are attracted to "fertile" females doesn't mean that they need to act on that attraction with a girl who's not even in high school. It's not the girls' fault, they can't help the way biology made their bodies. It is the older person's job to be responsible, regardless if it's an underage girl or boy. It's about time for people to address this issue in a way that gets people's attention, and these ads definitely do.

7:27 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I so agree with you, Janine. To others and the anonymous before myself: Turn the light on and evolve! 1) Men are PERFECTLY CAPABLE of controlling their behavior in any situation, regardless of their biology or a 13 year-old's cup size. This is EXACTLY the behavior this ad is speaking to.

Away with you and your ridiculous blue balls mentality. The "research" you site suggests a disposition, not a preogative or a right, and should not be quoted to justify irresponsibility.

I'm sure you don't think that, here and now, it's a fantasitic idea for 22 year old idiots to be impregnating 14 year olds. And Lord help us if it's inevitable.

Wake up, America. If we were talking about 17 year olds and up...well, that would be a sight better than what's really happening.

I, for one, applaud these ads. Start dialog! What more can you ask for? If they get some of these men to second guess themselves a few times, so much the better.

7:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I cannot believe these ads were pulled. They are exactly what we need these days - hard hitting at the truth. I personally know of several 25+ year old men who have a tendency to lust after 14, 15 year old girls (to them, if the girls have boobs, they are supposedly "fair game"). Upon showing them these ads, they immediately said "whoa" and realized the nature of their fantasies. Men are relatively simple creatures and we need strong, clear messages like these to get across to them.

12:14 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I dont know whats wrong with having sex with a 16 year old.
Just because you are a bunch of christian fuck-ups, that doesn't mean any harm is done to the girl, as long as it's consentual.
And to treat someone as a RAPIST, even if he didn't know she was under 18, is just cruel dogma and cannot possibly be justified by any means.

9:50 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

LOL those girls are hot!

5:06 PM  
Blogger Ty said...

Man I love Anonymous.

4:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think these ads totally miss their intended audience. I just heard this ad on a local radio station. It wasn't until I Googled the ad that I saw the visual campaign.
I understand the intent and it's importance but shouldn't we be focusing on self respect and self esteem of girls in this age range? What are the statistics of girls between the ages of 12 and 17 who have consensual sex? I would love to see the demographics of this printed as well. I don't think we need to be sociologists to know the answer to the above.
Predators will continue to be predators, and criminal minds continue to be criminal. Let's focus on the ones who have the most to lose.

4:54 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think these ads totally miss their intended audience. I just heard this ad on a local radio station. It wasn't until I Googled the ad that I saw the visual campaign.
I understand the intent and it's importance but shouldn't we be focusing on self respect and self esteem of girls in this age range? What are the statistics of girls between the ages of 12 and 17 who have consensual sex? I would love to see the demographics of this printed as well. I don't think we need to be sociologists to know the answer to the above.
Predators will continue to be predators, and criminal minds continue to be criminal. Let's focus on the ones who have the most to lose.

4:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The ad isn't nesessarily targeting pedophiles in the way most people think of them. It is geared toward statutory rape, which is a person over he age of eighteen having sex with someone under eighteen. It's more of a problem with teenage girls getting involved with men that arepast their maturity level. The ad is basically saying that just because the sixteen year old may physically resemble a 21 year old, doesn't mean she is ready for sex. These girls are being taken advantage of. These advertisments are extremely disturbing and effective in my opinion.

11:25 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It is just our culture that makes it bad, by nature we (men) are subconsciously more attracted to youth because youth symbolizes health and fertility. In other cultures a girl can consent to sex as young as nine years of age. I believe that the moment they receive sex education they should be able to a informed decision rather or not they want to have sex.

9:36 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

it's 16 in most states under the mason-dixon line tho... as well as most of Europe... not saying it's right just saying...

9:06 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This ad wasnt posted for pedophiles by reading the statement at the bottom its posted for people who are having sex with teenswhich might have the fully grown body. Telling them its the same as having sex with these little girls in the ads.

9:52 AM  
Anonymous Cigar Reviews said...

well. That definitely gets the point across, however I agree with a lot of the statements about pedophiles being attracted to kids because they are kids, not because they are teens. I think the article is targeted at the statutory rape offenders more than pedophiles. Eh..

8:14 PM  
Anonymous Senjata said...

What everyone is missing is how this PSA could promote statutory rape. By showing girls as fully developed women, the PSA encourages men to see them as such.

The words in the background can't possibly vie for attention against the voluptuous figure in front of them. The message most men will take away isn't "she's a girl", it's "she's a woman." This was really, really stupid.

8:55 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

hahaha. these adds are damn funny! they try to teach men something by showing the one thing they are attracted to, like HELL! show enough cleavage and do you think guys will read the adv. i don't think so! probably they've got dick in hand jerking off! they wouldn't bother the letters! the titties are too tempting! fact is the more nudity in community, the more rape to date! we need to study the patterns of fashion and sexual activity! the relate each other. believe me! the more nude the sexier the sexier... u know what! Wanna stop rape? start off by cutting down fashion adverts! :P n not posting up bulging titties on young innocent girls! TOTAL IDIOTS!

~ONLY AN IDIOT GOES AROUND NAKED, THINKING HEADS WON'T TURN AT THEM... REVISE YOUR FASHION & CLOTHING GIRLS~

1:59 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

not cool

7:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

not cool

7:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Total Butterfaces

11:51 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What they want is for you to treat them like;human beings, not objects. Unfortunately, the worst kind of people prey on these young woman. The point being; Stop staring at her tits, look her in the eyes and get to know her. Perhaps some of you need to explore, why the hell you know so much about what pedophiles find attractive. That justification doesn't explain the dramatic increase in statutory rape, in every county of every state in this country. Some of you, idiots,are perpetuating the myth, that victims are to blame. Regardless of age all people have the right to be treated like humans first, women second. It's human nature to feel a bio-chemical reaction to someone we find attractive. If they are under 18 it's illegal and wrong to pursue such attractions. For some reason we always fail to teach males that females will send; clear specific, undeniable signals if they share a mutual attraction. Seems like men of all ages waste a lot of time, money, and emotions on women who never convey those signals. Regardless of signals sent a woman has every right to change her mind. I would love to go a week without investigating a sexual assault. It's an adults responsibility to teach girls and boys there true value is as human beings.

4:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am an Agent for the Massachusetts Special Police. Statutory Rape Doesn't have anything to do with sex. Legally-Speaking, Statutory Rape is the act of an Adult, Driving a Minor Across State Lines or taking a minor across State Lines in some other way. Okay, That being said, it's different in every state, but in Massachusetts, 16 Years-Old is the Legal Age of sexual consent, go find out what the age of sexual consent is in your state or area by searching for it on http://www.Google.com/ . Okay, now Everything being said about this subjects, these Photoshop jobs of young girl's faces pasted onto the top Half 18-21 year old Models with large breasts are what's known as Propaganda. Propaganda is Information, esp. of a biased or misleading nature, which is used to promote a political cause or point of view. & this happens to be False Propaganda, because it gives the name of a law (Statutory Rape) & then continues to mislead the viewer into believing that a totally different law could be being violated by creating an absurd, impossible situation (face of a 9 year-old girl, on the body of a fully developed young Adult) & then says it's wrong. THERE IS LAWS AGAINST THIS KIND OF THING...ADOLF HITLER LEAD A POPULATION INTO NEARLY EXTERMINATING AN ENTIRE RACE OF PEOPLE OFF OF THE EARTH USING THIS VERY SAME TACTIC.

6:30 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The age of consent in Vatican City is 12. What were they thinking?

12:41 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I don't find this an effective campaign whatsoever. The reason being, it's a Photoshop. Below the neck, it's a woman who is (I assume, considering the content) above the age of consent. Therefore there's nothing "wrong" with looking at that part of the picture.

It's similar to what "To Catch a Predator" did. They use girls in their 20s to lure men in chatrooms by telling them that they're anywhere from 14-16. Yet if any of these men actually slept with the girl luring them, there'd be nothing illegal about it. Hence the controversy of that show, and ads like this.

It's a bad, ineffective ad with a muddled message, despite the good intentions of it.

1:16 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

why does the white girls picture say blah blah blah "its wrong, yet the black girls picture says it doesn't necessarily mean she has the brains?.....bit racist isn't it?

2:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I still masterbated to it

3:18 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home