Childhood obesity is a serious problem, and the soft sell of "okay, you need to lose a little weight." is apparently not working, as obesity rates keep rising. The "Meth. Not even once." in-your-face ad campaign sparked tremendous controversy but proved to be wildly successful. The same may work for childhood obesity, and non-profit organization Strong4Life in partnership with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta are willing to take this risk with a new, thought-provoking ad campaign. The ads feature unhappy, overweight children discussing their experiences with bullying from their peers as well as health problems like diabetes. The children are actually paid actors, but that doesn’t make these issues any less of a reality. The Obesity Action Coalition has questioned the effectiveness of the campaign and has voiced concerns that it could lead to further bullying. A caveat to consider would be to create an equally strong anti-bullying ad campaign to coincide with the Stop Childhood Obesity campaign. What are your thoughts?
