Are these PSAs inspiring or offensive? You decide.

The first reaction to this ad, done on behalf of United Way of Greater Milwaukee, is undeniably, ew. A little girl's face on top of D-cupped breasts can make anyone feel pervy. But designers say making people uncomfortable is the whole point: according to Serve, the agency who created the ads, 71 percent of teen pregnancies in inner-city Milwaukee are the result of statutory rape. In order to change such behavior, "we need to wake people up," says Gary Mueller, Serve's founder. The ads sure woke us up.

 
 
The Weekly Obsession

The 'Weekly Obsession' is a new video series dissecting the issues that dominate our 24/7 news cycle

green rankings - sum total-environment
Sum Total

Behind every statistic, there's a good story. A look at how facts and figures can add up to something greater than themselves.

7 Things

In this series, NEWSWEEK interviews the artists, celebrities, musicians and newsmakers that fascinate us. In their own words, cultural icons get real about their art, their passions and life on the A-list. (Or B-list, as the case may be.)

Download NEWSWEEK Video Podcast with iTunes
Sponsored by
 
 
 
  • Social Networks
  • Links to this article
 
  • Digg It!
  • Newsvine
  • Del.icio.us
  • Post to MySpace! MySpace
 
 

Email To A Friend

Please fill in the following information and we'll email this link.

Separate multiple addresses with commas

SPONSORED BY
 

Discuss

Member Comments

  • Posted By: phiomalibumalibu @ 02/26/2008 3:54:31 PM

    Interesting, Thanks for the info. For most teen addiction troubles I have used FreeTense.com
    They have great detox programs too.

  • Posted By: heidicatrina @ 02/26/2008 1:41:10 PM

    While sad that we can only get people's attention with shocking ads, if it works, it works. Probably the best campaign I've seen is the Montana Meth Project, and it works better than anyone would have every expected. check it out and you'll see at www.montanameth.org

Reply

Report Abuse

Enter comments if any for reporting abuse

View All Comments »