Images part of a new “Strong4Life,” ad campaign targeting overweight kids is being ridiculed for what many are calling insensitive. The campaign originated from the Georgia-based Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Pediatric Hospital where they argue that provocative ads are necessary. According to their research, 50 percent of adults surveyed did not see childhood obesity as a problem, and 75 percent of parents with overweight or obese kids did not think their kids had weight problems.
Those findings are in line with earlier research from Newcastle University which found that 70 percent of parents with overweight or obese children think their children are normal weight.
“We needed something that was more arresting and in your face than some of the flowery campaigns out there,” says Linda Matzigkeit, senior vice president of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. “If we do not wake up, this will be disastrous for our state.”
What are your thoughts? Are these ads offensive?
[mashshare]
