Comparing Commercial Advertisements on Children’s Sexual Harassment

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Comparing Commercial Advertisements on Children’s Sexual Harassment

The problem of sexual harassment is not entirely new. Over the years, sexual predation has been on the rise, with most abusers targeting vulnerable groups, including women and children. Children especially find themselves on the receiving edge, and some end up suffering in silence at the hand of their offenders. Sexual predators are persons with a distinct sexual preference for abusing children and they tend to look for minors that have not reached puberty and build trust with them as they groom them for abuse. This text discusses the various aspects of two advertisements, Innocence in Danger: Where’s the Pedophile? and Sexual Predators Can Hide in Your Child’s Smartphone.

The first advertisement Innocence in Danger: Where’s the Pedophile? is art directed by Michael Arguello and copywrited by Bassam Tariq. It is a photo of countless people basking in the sun and enjoying themselves by the beach. They are in swimming attire and they have umbrellas to shield them from the sun. Worth noting, on the art, is a person holding a document saying, “you worry about losing your kids in a crowd, pedophile count on it. Take the rights steps to protect your children. Talk to them about the signs of a child predator” (Kempen, 2021). The second advertisement, Sexual Predators Can Hide in Your Child’s Smartphone features a lady being groped by the arm disguised as a cell phone in the back pocket of her trouser. The photo is captioned, “sexual predators can hide in your child’s smart phone.” In their unique ways, both advertisements address the issue of sexual harassment of children by predators.

The first advertisement paints a picture of how sexual predators lure children into normal situations. With so many events taking place at the beach, there is a baseball game and a lot of people, this presents the perfect opportunity for child abductions to take place. In such situations, it is hard to tell a pedophile. The advertisement is directed to parents that have young children. The campaign targets parents because they are the first-hand shields and they play a critical role in maintaining their children’s safety. The advertisement also stresses the importance of bystanders and security agents in crowded areas such as beaches in protecting young children. The ad is a call-to-action to parents and society by extension to stay alert and take crucial actions in keeping children safe. The second advertisement Sexual Predators Can Hide in Your Child’s Smartphone is a call to action to parents to think thoroughly about the safety of their children, being that predators can be a click away in their mobile devices. Without a doubt, the campaign is appropriate to both parents and the public as it urges them to take extra precautions in how they allow their children to use social media. It is a call to action for parents to monitor and limit their children’s use of social media. With the increased use of technology in the current day, sexual predators may be hiding in plain sight, and it is important for parents to go the extra mile to protect their children.

In closing, the advertisements highlighted in this essay are similar in that they address the problem of sexual harassment among vulnerable groups, particularly children. They employ unique strategies to pass across the main idea. One photo shows a crowded place with lots of activities where pedophiles are likely to abduct children while the other photo is a photo of a lady being groped by a hand disguised as a phone in her back trouser pocket. The two advertisements target similar audiences, particularly parents with young children, bystanders, and general members of society.

References

Kempen, A. (2021). Spending too much time online is unhealthy for kids and can be A TOOL for child sexual predators. Servamus Community-based Safety and Security Magazine, 114(6), 50-53.