Fresh off reminding us that Nepal needs donations and that we can recycle our bathroom products, the Ad Council is back with another take on an always-topical subject: domestic violence.
The new campaign, created by RSA Films to support the nonprofit Futures Without Violence, includes TV, radio, digital, and outdoor elements. They’re based around the web resource microsite “Teach Early,” which includes a manual on how to prevent your own kids from growing up to be abusers.
The TV spot equates the act of teaching respect to that of turning one’s kid into a competent athlete:
There’s research behind this campaign: a survey conducted by the Ad Council with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that, while nearly 90 percent of men say they feel like they should talk to young boys about violence committed against girls and women, less than one in three did so over the past six months.
These numbers seem to apply to all men rather than just those with children, but the larger, more important point is that one in four women become victims of violence perpetrated by a loved one within their lifetimes.
The campaign also encourages men to share images of “teachable moments between men and boys” along with the #TeachEarly tag. We’re told that several famous people will run pics of themselves either mentoring or being mentored, but that part of the campaign doesn’t seem to have launched yet.
iHeartMedia is supporting the radio campaign and Clear Channel did the outdoor.