Anti-abuse ad has a hidden message only children can see

An adult looking at this new anti-abuse poster would see a child’s face and the message: “sometimes, child abuse is only visible to the child suffering it.” But a 10-year-old looking at the same ad might also see a cut lip and bruises, along with a hotline number to call.

The Aid to Children and Adolescents at Risk Foundation (or ANAR Foundation) in Spain created an ad that displays different messages depending on the viewer's -- not age exactly -- but height.

Watch a video of the campaign.

“If somebody hurts you, phone us and we'll help you.” ANAR wanted a way to send their message exclusively to children under 10 -- especially to abuse victims whose aggressors might be standing nearby.

To get that effect, the company that designed the ad, Grey Spain, used lenticular printing.

First, they figured out which area of an outdoor poster will be visible only to someone that’s 1.35 meters tall or under (that’s about four feet five inches).

Then they assembled two images -- one aimed at adults and one aimed at children -- and the lenticular technology lets you see one image from one angle and another image from a different angle.

(Not unlike novelty “wiggle pictures” where you move your head side to side to see an eye wink or a butterfly flap its wings, for example.)

While the ad was praised for the accomplishment, MSN reports, some question if placing it on YouTube and explaining how it works undermines its purpose. And as Gizmodo asks, how long will it be before toy companies start doing to the same thing to hawk their products directly at kids?

[ANAR Foundation via Gizmodo]

Image: ANAR Foundation via YouTube

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com