#ChildLabour – What’s In The Fine Print?

Ad by Delhi Police

According to David Ogilvy, founder of the legendary Advertising Agency, his contemporary, Howard Gossage once said “Advertising justifies its existence when used in the public interest—it is much too powerful a tool to use solely for commercial purposes.” When it comes to child labour, we couldn’t agree more!

Often the issue of child labour seems a distant reality, happening in dhabbas at highways, in cotton fields across villages, at construction sites far away and in homes that aren’t ours. Yet, these powerful print ads tell a different story, making you stop, think and question the proximity to our lives, and the moral responsibility that comes with it. 

1. CHILD LABOUR ENDS CHILDHOOD

A print advertisement by the CRY, Through the visual, metaphorically shows how children shut themselves in, when they are put to labour and not into schools. Through this powerful series of ads, children are shown in different circumstances – a child mason finishing up her brick box, a child carpenter finishing up his wooden box and a child welder finishing up his metal box, illustrating that child labour really does end childhood.

2.WHEN CHILDHOOD IS LOST, THERE IS NO WINNER

A campaign run by Ministério Público do Trabalho, i.e., the Public Ministry of Labour. The Advertisement showcases a child as a player on a foosball table, with a tear in his eye, controlled by someone else. Unable to give a normal childhood to children, there is no winner in the ‘game of life’.

3.A CHILD WHO WORKS, IS A CHILD WHO QUITS

In the advertisement presented by World Vision, Chile. A the boy has all the required gear to play football with his friends, but he just stands there while all the other boys look at him. The underlying message of the ads tells us that it is difficult for a child to go back and live a normal life with his peers after experiencing the hardships of labour – quitting on what his/her life could be.

4. A CHILD’S LIFE IS PRICELESS #NOPRICEONKIDS

In this Advertisement by UNICEF France, a girl is shown doing manual work, with a price tag on her. Using Instagram’s newly launched shopping feature,  the ad is used to raise awareness on the issue of child labour and slavery, appealing to audiences that we cannot put a price on the childhoods of our children.

5.WE MUST MAKE THIS A THING OF THE PAST

In a powerful series by Save the Children, the advertisement highlights issues faced by children, particularly children being pushed to work in factories. Showcasing children within boxes, as appears at an exhibition, the organization appeals to audiences world over, to make the practice of child labour a thing of the past.

6.CHILDHOOD ENDS WHERE WORK BEGINS

APAV, an NGO in Chile pushed out an ad that resonates with most organizations working to eradicate child labour. Building on a potent insight –childhood ends where work begins, the aim is also to highlight that making children work is wrong, it is a punishable offense, encouraging people to report it.

7. IF YOU DON’T SPEAK UP, IT DOESN’T STOP.

Millions of children are employed in menial, labour intensive jobs, across the world. They work at construction sites and factories. They sweep homes and streets. They work long hours. Often for very little money. They do not get the chance to run around, play, go to school or hang out with friends. They spend their days working and they don’t have things to play with. Unfortunately they spend their whole time with tools like hammers and pliers. An ad from Brazil puts the onus on people and society to stop child labour.

8.SET HER FREE

In an attempt to abolish child labour, the Mumbai Police started a campaign series that showed children doing work – serving tea, cleaning homes, carrying heavy loads on their head, and with the image strings attached to every child. The strings are representative of their lives and childhoods being held back due to the burden of work.

9.SAY NO TO CHILD LABOUR

The print advertisement by UNICEF acknowledges child labour as a global issue. The advertisement shows a child working at a construction site looking into a mirror, that reflects another boy going to school. Every child has the right to go to school and live a happy normal childhood, that is snatched away with child labour.