Have you seen this O2 advert?

[BertieBotts]

I've just come across it on a website I use. The advert's clearly aimed at 13-25 year olds. On the website version there was a squareish picture of the still frame from the top video here - the one which is showing there, with the caption "Watch boyfriend go ape". When you click the ad it plays the video as you can see at that website. (It starts off as a teenage boy threatening his girlfriend, and then pans out to reveal it's a drama group)

Okay so it ends up as a drama group, but I was that the way they've chosen to hook in their age group is to seemingly offer a video of something like this! What do you think?

That is shocking.

Shocking indeed.

This is still bothering me. I mean what the hell were they thinking? Or is this actually what interests 13-25 year olds? (I am in that age group and it appals me, so clearly not all.)

I am not shocked by it, because it is the usual negative stereotypes that they always convey. It is the usual depressing propaganda. It's always violence, or drugs or alcohol etc. - never just young people having fun and dancing or learning or contributing or playing sport etc. Negative messages about feral youth are often conveyed, and drug addiction etc. is often glamourised (even though it is claimed that the opposite is intended).

It's not what interests most young people, but it is what they are encouraged to be interested in, just as drug addicted pop stars, who write lyrics about their addiction which are classed as "real life" are portrayed to them and they are then told that drugs help them express their art etc.