nasty ad "have you seen alex's willy"

[howtodrainyourflagon]

That's the slogan on the ad plus a picture of a child. Totally inappropriate.

OP - can I ask why you are so adverse to your children seeing it? What is it about the title that offends you? My youngest is too young right now and my eldest is 9 and doesn't have the kind of access to the Internet to make it a concern right now, but certainly within the next couple of years she will be encountering this subject at school, among her peer group so I'd rather she was educated and informed in advance.

Fine for kids and parents to be educated about inappropriate sharing online. Not fine for the nspcc to use picture of child plus slogan "have you seen alex's willy?" as a way of advertising the campaign. I don't care what worthy content is behind the link : it's something that hopefully my cyber risk aware dc wouldn't click.

It's an excellent ad to get peoples attention. Which it has. Job done.

A sensitive subject, and one which absolutely should be addressed.

i think it's great to raise awareness, and if you are concerned about your chidren seeing it op - can't understand why not - then that's a small price to pay to get the message across to everyone else.

Children are very vulnerable and every attempt should be made to make them aware of it.

I think they're excellent adverts - the tone is great, not scary, just informative and totally introduced from a child's point of view.

Prudishness about the realities of kids and curiosity / humour is a real problem IMO: being more open helps kids talk about this stuff and not be too ashamed to ask questions. It's fear and shame that keep kids silent about this stuff. Besides they are hardly explicit in any way FGS!

To be fair, I now think the OP is not complaining about the content of the ad, but the particular phrasing of the banner ad (which I have not seen).

I agree with her that I hope a child would not click through on a banner ad as OP describes

I think it's a great campaign.

Brodicea, you're spot on. I don't think the content or language is anything to be afraid of for children who are old need to understand it.

I don't mind talking about this stuff. But whether that ad makes me want to click on it, nope, and that's the point isn't it.

Anyway, people invest too much in campaigns, just talk about it. You don't need this or maybe people do.

I think the description of the positioning of the word 'willy' with a 'picture' of a child is misleading - it is clearly a cartoon, the NSPCC involvement is also clear. But each to their own, you can't please everyone. If it raises awareness or helps one child's avoid getting themselves into a risky situation then it's been worth it imo.

Gah, ignore the iPhone typos!!

I've just watched them and I think they are good too. I think the name is designed to get kids to click in it-the ad is designed for them- and it's exactly the language they would use in this situation.

I saw that flash past on twitter earlier and thought I must have misread.

Not NSPCC's best ever decision.

I think the name is designed to get kids to click in it-

That's where I disagree - I'd hope that a child would think twice about clicking on it...

I noticed it earlier and did think it was an odd title. However after I watched it, I think it's an excellent advert and raises some very good points. I will be sharing it with both my dds (16&11) later.

I think given the subject matter they have done it very well, its not a pleasant thing to think about, but the truth is young lives and families have been ruined by this exact thing. I hope its still around when my children are older. I think it says what it needs too without being patronising or judgmental, its matter of fact, and well narrated, it enables dialogue about a difficult subject . I can't see how its offensive. Its a sad reflection of our time. But it is a reality.

Maybe the children who click on it are the ones who would benefit from seeing the ad?

I totally agree- great if your children are cyber savvy but many children of a certain age wouldn't be able to resist. Furthermore, I think the language is designed o regency exactly what one of these group texts: snapchat or Instagram messages would say. As a teacher I see the fallout of poor decisions made online regularly- I do think this ad will have a positive impact.

o regency????

I think I meant to write 'to reflect'

I can't see what's wrong with it. It's a good advert. Clear concise information in a way that's understood by the children it's aimed at. I'd have no problem with my almost 9yr old dd watching them and may even watch them together. With two teenage brothers she's already aware of Facebook, snapchat, Instagram etc.

I think it is perfect, it is the question kids will ask, then show the piccy or pass it on.

My son is only 8, but we watched it together, and discussed it. Kids need to hear things often for it to really sink in to their subconscious.

His reply was none of my friends have a phone yet, but explained he needed to be ready for they day they do.

I think they're both very good ads, I worry about my 8 year old DSD, she has a computer in her room at home and unlimited use of her iPad. I've talked to her about online safety & I don't think she used any sites like snapchat or FB yet but the time will come. I will show my DH the ads & we'll decide whether or not to show DSD.

Shockers sorry to hear that your child went through a scenario like this.

And if the campaign stops it from happening to just one more child...job done. It's clearly aimed at older children who have free access to technology, but that said, I plan on showing it to my 7yo.

Surely the children who wouldn't know better than to click are exactly the ones who really need to see the advert.

This situation happens so regularly, at least termly in school, and it usually involves the younger children 11-13. I think this campaign is a great way to explain the dangers to children and for parents to start conversations with their children. It is uncomfortable viewing this and reading the title. It's meant to be - having to sort out the situation in real life is a lot more unpleasant for everyone concerned.

I thought I'd misheard the first time I saw the ad!