Advertising in MKE: Part Six

Living in Milwaukee, I've seen plenty of interesting ads. There have been ads on the dangers of sleeping with your baby, graphic anti-smoking ads, and the importance of eating right for a strong baby. Now, however, there is a new breed of advertisements popping up around the city. They attempt to bring light to teenage pregnancy and statutory rape.

It's a campaign being run by Serve Marketing for the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and depicts young girls wrapped in snakes or covered by rats with the slogan, "What kind of man preys on young girls?" It's a powerful message and it leads the viewer to the website Baby Can Wait, which "connects Milwaukee's youth with sexual health resources".

The ads are shocking, but aren't the first to draw attention to the website. Earlier in the year, there were ads with a princess saying, "All my dreams came true when my Prince Charming got me pregnant and left."

These advertisements are found in bus stop shelters and bring to light very serious issues that many people may not wish to address. That's why I appreciate them--they are there to shock and disturb because a man who takes advantage of a young girl is shocking and disturbing.

The advertisements completely appeal to the emotional aspect of human nature. No one should be okay with hurting and taking advantage of children and by placing these ads at high-traffic bus stops, people will see them and hopefully want to take action against statutory rape and teen pregnancy.