International Women’s Day – SA Ad Agencies Produce Provocative Domestic Violence Ads [analysis]

International Women’s Day, on Sunday, saw at least two South African aertising agencies bring out hard-hitting aerts designed to draw attention to violence against women and the services available for women in danger. One took the risky step of using a silly internet meme to talk about gender-based violence – and gained international media attention.

In one photograph, a woman is shown ironing clothes on a board set up in a dark, graffiti-covered subway. In another, a woman is depicted attending to her hair and makeup in front of a dressing table on the corner of a dodgy-looking street at night. Another woman snuggles into a sofa to read a book in her PJs, on the side of a deserted railway station.

In each case, the tag line is the same: “Many women feel safer here than at home.” At the bottom, smaller wording reads: “South African women are more likely to be killed by their intimate partner than by a stranger.” A phone number directs women who are in need of help to the NGO POWA (People Opposing Women Abuse), with the hashtag #SafeAtHome.

The campaign is the brainchild of agency Joe Public, which produced the…

Source : Daily Maverick

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