The Advertisement that made me Angry...

There are so many things that are wrong with this advertisement by the Delhi Police. I have no doubt they had good intentions but the execution of the idea just made me angry. And maybe you too!

The idea is to keep young underprivileged children away from bad influences so that they do not take the road to crime.

My problem with the ad is:

·     Such generalisation - Are the children from underprivileged background only likely to take to crime? Why does not the ad display a picture of a rich, over-indulged kid with plenty of resources at his disposal and a bad group of friends? Newspapers regularly carry stories about umpteen numbers of crimes committed by rich, spoilt kids. So why this bias? Just because the rich ones are not on the streets! And what goes on in their empty huge apartments goes unchecked, so we can safely assume that they do not need to be productively occupied.

·     Where is his right to choice? – Has anyone asked the kid in the photo what his choice is? Does he want to cut onions or does he dream bigger? Does he want to study and later a vocational course? Why does the ad not suggest ‘send him to school’? Who are we to decide that they are only fit for menial jobs? Why is there no talk of him not attending school because the government is not building enough schools and ensuring free primary education for all? Just take a minute and look into his eyes. He appears very smart and determined so why should we club all these kids and think that a small time job is all what they can do. I am sure there are some who have immense potential but what they lack is opportunity.

·         What about child labour?

·         Why is it only a boy and not a girl?

And maybe it is only me but the words ‘chop a head’ and the picture of an innocent child, just do not belong together. Not even in an advertisement. Specially not in an advertisement meant for his benefit!