So Amnesty International has this new interactive billboard . When you look right at it it shows a picture of a happy, smiling couple. As you look away the picture changes to one of domestic violence. The poster has an eye tracking camera in it to know when someone is looking directly at it.
The point is to raise awareness of how domestic violence is often behind closed doors, when no one is looking. A couple could seem happy and perfect to the outside world but have a dark and violent problem when they are alone.
This is obviously a very state of the art campaign. And by that I mean an expensive one. Now, this message is great – how many times do you hear people say they are surprised at DV because the couple seemed so happy? But the question is, could the money be better spent in other ways to stop abuse? Maybe, but think about this: the ad made us write about it and therefore, talk about it. Which we probably wouldn’t be doing if it were just a regular poster. Also, the advanced technology might get people in other circles – tech nerds, ad people, etc – talking about an issue that might not otherwise be on their radar. I think it’s a cool idea and I hope that AI can soon have the money to put this ad in more locations. -Liza
(photo via www.coloribus.com)
