I’m probably going to take some heat for this, but here is an ad that was running, and then quickly pulled:
Copyranter picks it up as a Date Rape ad. Slog sees it as a alcohol ad.
Copyranter mentions how hard it is to do a good rape ad, and he’s right. It’s a very, very tough line to walk.
Slog points out that alcohol and drinking do not magically make rapists exist. It’s a valid point, and it makes me think that this works better as an alcohol awareness ad.
In that sense (with some changes to the the copy), I think that it is a great ad, and I would hope it would remind, not just women, that when impaired, people are prone to do things they wouldn’t otherwise, or were even coerced into. It could be quite an awesome campaign, focused around the “couldn’t say no” theme.
Emphasis on “couldn’t.”
Contrary to the views in the links above, I don’t see this as victim-blaming. I can see how it could be perceived as that, but I guess I’m more looking at the ad as a piece about self-control.
Even though this ad was quickly pulled, it got a lot of coverage online, so at least we can hope that brings attention to the cause.
