In the landscape of advertising, capturing the attention of young minds requires finesse and responsibility. As marketers strive to create engaging content for children, a delicate balance must be maintained between fostering creativity and ensuring the well-being of our youngest consumers. In this age of heightened awareness, the advertising industry is challenged not only to captivate but also to instill positive values.
One crucial aspect of this delicate equilibrium is navigating the use of images, especially those with the potential to inflict harm or discomfort. It is important to look beyond the scope of traditional concerns to encompass a realm where the innocence of childhood intersects with the advocacy for animal rights.
In accordance with the guidelines set forth by Werberat Austria, advertisements directed at children must adhere to a set of principles designed to protect their physical, psychological, and moral well-being. The evolving landscape has brought forth considerations that extend beyond the immediate impact on children, reaching into realms where the imagery of animal abuse is brought to the fore. How do such distressing visuals fit into the narrative of responsible advertising for children? Children are not able to distinguish and how to interact with animals – they need to learn it. But if they see images from slaughter houses or where animals are abused and tortured . it is hard to say which impact this has on them. Soko Tierschutz showed once a clip where some adults very harshly abused a cow and punched her – then you see some children outside this little box shouting and also participating to punch the cow with long sticks. Children learn through imitating their parents and other people – so there might be some children who could be triggered to have such a behavior as well when they see how animals are abused. And on the other side you will have a lot of traumatised children from seeing this content.
Under the post where they show the video with men abusing a cow and children participating a lot of people commented. From how frustrated and shocked they are to that they cannot watch is as it would never get out of their head again – everything is there. Some are also hoping that the children are getting help and can leave this family – there is an ongoing court case against the adults on this farm as well. When you look through the comments on their posts there are always a few in between who ask how Soko Tierschutz can even look at stuff like this again and again – they say that they cannot watch the content anymore – with videos where you get a content warning for sensitive content – but they support the cause.
Information from the ASA about how to work with images of animals in advertising
When featuring animals in marketing, it’s crucial to avoid overly graphic or distressing imagery. Charities advocating for animal welfare may use such content, but the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) weighs the cause against potential distress. For targeted campaigns, like PETA’s email to its subscribers, warnings and specific audiences can make distressing content acceptable. However, broad or untargeted use of such imagery is likely deemed unacceptable.
Marketers using humor with animals should ensure hazardous scenarios are clearly fictitious, avoiding any implication of harm to animals. The key is to balance the promotion of important causes with responsible and sensitive content, considering the audience and context to make ethical advertising decisions.
Shock Advertising – Exploiting Animal Cruelty
Experiences and stimuli that evoke emotions tend to be more memorable than neutral events (Paz, Pelletier, Bauer, & Pare, 2006). Negative images have a stronger impact on humans than positive ones (Vermeulen & Odendaal, 1993), leading advertisers to utilize such images of animals to trigger emotional reactions and provoke behavioral responses in consumers. Animal shelters often adopt this practice, incorporating images of abused animals in their adoption advertisements. Conversely, positive emotions like loyalty, friendliness, and human-pet attachment are strategically employed in advertisements to foster a connection with consumers. These emotions, associated with relationships, are anticipated to drive viewers to purchase the product or service that might otherwise go unnoticed in a store.
Sources:
https://www.werberat.at/kinder.aspx
https://www.instagram.com/p/C1zC9plKpvi/
https://www.asa.org.uk/advice-online/animals.html
https://tap-a-gain.com/example-of-shock-advertising/
