Finland’s largest child welfare organization published an outdoor ad campaign to remind parents and adults of the content children see when browsing their phones, especially at night. The campaign consisted of billboards disguised as a child’s screen recording, a continuous stream of disturbing and violent images, including cyberbullying and war. Highlighting the harsh reality that children can face on their phones, the ads were displayed only at night in Helsinki, Finland, because that is when children are most likely to use their phones without adult supervision.

The aim of The Mannerheim League for Child Welfare’s campaign is to support parents in media education for children. According to a Pew Research Center survey (2020), a majority of parents of children aged 11 or younger are concerned that their child is being exposed to inappropriate content online. 59 percent of US parents were concerned about their child accessing violent content online, and 56 percent were concerned about their child being bullied or harassed online*.

“Digitalization has revolutionized our world, for better and for worse. Media is intertwined with children’s lives, where for example the internet, social media, and games are part of their environment. A child has the right to safety in digital environments as well“, says Paula Aalto, The Mannerheim League for Child Welfare’s Head of School Cooperation and Digital Youth Work.

TBWA\Helsinki, the creative partner in the campaign, discovered an approach that allowed drawing attention to the time of day, when children are most likely to use their phones without adult supervision or support. Thus, the outdoor ads are visible only at night.

“Children are at their most vulnerable during the night. We created billboards that are active from 12:00 am to 2:00 am, displaying a stream of images that depict cyberbullying, nudity, war, and violence. It effectively reminds us, adults, about the availability of illicit online content to our children. We purposely hid the content of the billboards from the public – this became the core of our message. These images were too frightening to show, yet they are the harsh reality our kids are exposed to when we aren’t watching”, says TBWA’s Creative Director Joni Furstenborg.

Adults are the solution

The association does not blame adults or technology, but supports parents in educating their children about media.

“It is understandable that parents cannot constantly monitor their child’s phone use. However, as adults, we are the solution to protecting our children from inappropriate content. By developing our own media literacy skills, we also know how to act if a child has seen something scary or inappropriate on their phone”, says Aalto.

The Mannerheim League emphasizes that providing support entails exploring media together, achieving joint successes, and being present and genuinely interested in our children’s lives . Constant communication with the child on and off screen is of the utmost importance.

“As a parent myself, I am concerned about my own children’s media use on their phones. Children are constantly exposed to harmful content, and parents must protect them from seeing things that they do not have the ability to process due to their young age. We, parents, are the solution”, Furstenborg ends.

he Mannerheim League is a Finnish NGO that promotes the wellbeing of children and of families with children, increases respect for childhood and seeks to make it more visible, and sees that children’s views are taken into account in public decision-making. The organization is the largest child welfare organization in Finland. It has 75 000 members and 541 local associations throughout the country. The work of these local associations is supported by the League’s 10 district organizations.

TBWA\Helsinki is the genuinely international and most award-winning agency in Finland.
For four consecutive years clients have voted TBWA\Helsinki as the agency of the year in Finland and Eurobest Awards have named the company the Country Agency of the Year. TBWA\Helsinki employs 160 marcom professionals and is part of the leading global TBWA advertising agency network.

Credits
Advertising agency – TBWA\Helsinki

Markus Nieminen – Vice President, Strategy & Content
Joni Furstenborg -–Creative Director
Paula Sonne – Head of Communications and PR
Tuomas Perälä – Senior Copywriter
Hanna Karlsson – Designer
Tiia Rahkonen – PR Producer
Emma Pettersson – PR and Insights Trainee
Mikko Kuoppasalmi – Creative
Niko Hatara – Executive Producer & Head of in-house productions SCREEN\

Client – The Mannerheim League for Child Welfare

Leena Poutanen – Director of Communication and Fundraising
Paula Aalto – Head of School Cooperation and Digital Youth Work

By: Ana St. John

Advertising campaigns have reinforced and even promoted gender stereotypes throughout the years. Now the perspective is different; the industry is in the process of a change. The award winner advertiser and art director Maria Jose Diaz explained what is causing this transformation. 

According to Maria, a few years ago, successful campaigns were created thinking specifically about selling products and highlighting the male point of view because of their financial role in the household, while women were only in charge of taking care of the home and the family. 

Female stereotypes have existed in the advertisement of most products, from clothes, toys, and home appliances to cleaning products. They were majorly due to the perception of the role women must play in society and to the low participation of females in advertising campaigns and leadership roles in the industry.

The advertising expert mentioned that the best examples are cleaning brands because they always portray women in charge of the house duties as if these were exclusive to them. This reality has generated feminine stereotypes throughout the years, sexualizing the female body, and even though it is still happening, it is also losing its impact. 

“Change of behavior is coming from outside of the industry, not from the inside” the advertiser highlighted.

Before, advertising used to create trends, but now we see audiences jumping in through social media, setting the tone and demanding change because now they can provide direct feedback.

“A brand can’t use a campaign that reinforces gender stereotypes and get away with it because social media will come in. Cancel culture does not only happen to people brands could also suffer from it.” the advertiser highlighted.

The advertiser has also worked on different campaigns that challenge gender stereotypes, one of them is the campaign “We won’t wait” a student campaign with Levi’s to diminish potty parity she worked with Art Director Aditi Sobti and Copywrite Molly Baraff. 

Maria Diaz also reinforced that supporting and encouraging women in creative positions will generate radical transformation because female-to-female support in the industry plays a role in overthrowing gender stereotypes. Advertising is more than a marketing strategy it is an agent of change.

Goose droppings in beer brewing – this Finnish city takes sustainability communications to the next level

This summer Finns can drink beer brewed with wild herbs, food waste and even goose poop. The new beers by a local microbrewery Ant Brew celebrate their hometown’s turn as European Green Capital and promote an important message of a wasteless circular economy. The Wasted Potential beer series has already gained attention both in Finland and abroad.

The Finnish city of Lahti is known for their pioneering environmental action, and for their open-minded co-operation with locals. Now the European Green Capital 2021 joins forces with the local microbrewery Ant Brew by crafting a new beer series. The Wasted Potential beers are brewed with wild herbs, local food waste, like bread, berries, and fruits – and even goose droppings.

The poop is used in a food-safe way to smoke malt to create a unique stout beer. The goose droppings are gathered from local parks, where geese are causing a messy problem. Now, the local parks get cleaner and the special edition summer beverages are perfect for a picnic in the park – a true two birds with one stone type of solution.