Warning: Some viewers may find this video upsetting

Modelling agency Models Direct has just become aware of this hard-hitting, cutting edge new interactive television and online campaign which has been launched by Boost For Kids in Canada. It has received an understandably mixed reaction from the public and we would be interested to hear your opinions on it.

The ‘Make the Call Now’ Public Service Announcement campaign has a powerful message. It features a video which places viewers in a room with a child who is at risk of physical abuse from an older male, and plays on the conscience of the viewer by offering them a chance to change the outcome of the scenario.

Footage shows a child at one end of the table and the older male at the other end. After around 30 seconds the man moves towards the boy and at this point the scene pauses. A free number then appears on the screen, with the words, ‘call now to change the way this story ends’. Each computer is allocated a different number so that they may be identified and an alternative ending can be played if the call is made. Those who choose to make the call will find that it is answered by an actor playing the potential abuser and the intervention leads to an alternative ending to the upsetting scene. Without the call the advertisement will continue along it’s original path.

Executive director of Boost for Kids, Karyn Kennedy, said in a release about the campaign: “The goal of this campaign is to leave viewers feeling uncomfortable, just as they would feel if they witnessed the abuse first-hand.

“This campaign should make Canadians feel as if they are standing between the child and the abuser and are the only means of stopping the violence. We want Canadians to take this personally. This is what motivates people to get up, make that call and stand in the way of continued abuse.”

According to research, carried out by The Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies, up to 54% of individuals questioned would not currently report suspicion of abuse in real life.

The models who feature in thought provoking campaigns like this one are undoubtedly raising awareness and could be contributing to a change in attitude about serious problems facing society.

Do you think campaigns like this necessary in order to get the message across and protect children from child abuse, or is this approach is unnecessarily shocking? Models Direct would like to hear your opinions.

The campaign will run until the end of November.