The Salvation Army Put A Model In “The Dress” For A Domestic Violence Advert
The South African branch of the Salvation Army tweeted this image this morning, showing a bruised model wearing The Dress, which became a viral phenomenon.
Referring to the optical illusion that brought The Dress to worldwide attention, the caption reads: “The only illusion is if you think it was her choice. One in 6 women are victims of abuse. Stop abuse against women.”
The advert features the logo for Carehaven, a home for abused women and their children run by the Salvation Army. The charity says the home has helped more than 5,000 people.
A lot of people retweeted the advert while adding their praise, with many calling it “powerful”.
The South African advertising agency behind the image, Ireland/Davenport, told BuzzFeed News in an emailed statement:
“For the past few days the internet has been swarming with comments about ‘the dress’ – overall people have been commenting how they hate the fact that an insignificant thing like this could take priority on the internet over more pressing topics such as abuse,” the company said.
The agency’s creative team created it within 24 hours and then approached the Salvation Army to ask if they would like to put their name to ad.
“After the idea had been cracked by the team there was no time to spare. We approached the Salvation Army and they were nothing but helpful and overjoyed to help us get their message out there,” the agency said. “With the help of favours from suppliers and production we managed to create and publish the ad in a day.
“This ad is a mechanism to be seen not just as a message for woman who have been abused but for all.”
Frankie Burgoyne, the administrator of the Carehaven centre, told us:
“To be very honest I think the more controversial the advert the better if it gets the message across! It is a terribly sad and rife problem in our communities, made so much worse by the drug and alcohol abuse which is SO prevalent in our society.”
source - buzzfeed
