the unkindest cuts

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No one likes to think about child abuse, but one Connecticut shop was surprised when its PSAs for a local social services agency met with media resistance.
MCS Advertising in West Hartford created ads for the Village for Families & Children in Hartford. In one ad, a mother hits and chokes her daughter while her young son watches.
The spots debuted this summer. “When it was covered on the evening news, the network affiliates gave one of those warnings: ‘What you are about to see is of a graphic nature’ –before they showed the spot,” said agency president Lawrence Marks.
Even PBS asked the agency to edit out scenes of physical contact and all sound other than the voiceover.
Nevertheless, the spots are now running in Connecticut during morning and evening news and on cable.



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