Cleft Lip Advertising: Unsettling Yes, But Effective

        While living in New York between 1998 and 2000, I remember riding the subways and looking at advertisements of battered women plastered on the walls.
        These ads were virtually impossible to ignore, of women with black and blue marks, eyes pushed close, bloodied scars and discolored incisions tarnishing their faces.
        In fact, several passengers frequently complained (as only New Yorkers can) with crime, aggression, and mayhem all around them, why they were being forced to look at battered victims on their journey to work as well.
        Initially, I agreed with that sentiment, until I realized the unsettling images was the whole purpose of the advertising campaign: to make you uncomfortable enough, and upset you enough to trigger contributions in helping wipe out an overlooked crime against humanity that needed New Yorker�s undivided attention.
        I have no idea how effective the battered women�s campaign was. I�m guessing it was successful; given the shock value packed a lot of punch.
        If you�re an online news junkie, you can�t help but notice there are some rather disturbing ads being displayed, usually on the right-hand side of your computer screen, showing babies with mangled upper-lips, openings in the upper roof of their mouths, exposed teeth, or worse�no teeth at all.
        These are typically pictures of babies born with a birth defect, commonly referred to as the cleft lip and palate (CLP), which occurs with one in every 600 babies born in the U.S. or about 6,800 babies a year, according to Morgan Kathryn Gregson, Foundation Administrator for the Cleft Palate Foundation.  
        Research shows CLP is linked to ethnicity, affecting one in 500 babies among Asians, Hispanics, and Native Americans, while one out of every 800 are Caucasians, and one out of 1200 are African-Americans. 
        China and India, based on the sheer volume of their rapidly growing populations, registers the highest number of babies born with these birth defects. The average cost of plastic surgery in the United States to repair a cleft lip is $5,000, according to the website of Operation Smile, but through the generosity of corporate donations, surgery can cost as little as $245. The cost of surgeries in developing countries is roughly the same ($250), but because most governments don�t consider CLP to be a big enough health concern, and due to families being considerably poorer than in the U.S., many children simply go untreated.  On average, babies born with CLP in the U.S. are treated within the first three months after being born.
        Opinions vary why children are afflicted with CLP, but the most common causes cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stems from a combination of genes, smoking during pregnancy, poor nutritional habits, and a sudden change in medications.
        The ads of babies (primarily from Africa) most online readers are seeing is from a campaign sponsored by The SmileTrain , a non-profit organization, whose website claims to be the ``best managed cost-effective charity in the world for treating clefts.��
        When I asked Priscilla Ma if SmileTrain receives any complaints about the disturbing nature of these ads, the Senior Marketing Manager conceded, without disclosing how many, they have received a fair amount of grumbling on how the ads are indeed unsettling, with many offering suggestions how they could be better promoted with a softer approach.
        When questioned about SmileTrain's campaign, Gregson from CPF commented they're not in total agreement with SmileTrain�s ``shock value�� advertising campaign either.
        ``The tactic does seem to be beneficial in the fundraising world as SmileTrain makes a lot of money from their campaigns. ``Oftentimes, Gregson explained, to repair the cleft, the individual may need more than 10 surgeries.  ``The quick fix that groups like SmileTrain provide is an important piece of the process. `` CPF just believes that more must be done.  Apart from the surgeries, speech therapy, esteem development, and dental work must also be addressed.��
        Whether such ``shock ads�� are disturbing to some readers, or enlighting to others, I guess we all can learn to get through an online news article with images of babies with mangled lips flickering in the corner of our eyes, if it helps address a growing but often overlooked health concern.

-Bill Lucey
[email protected]

July 31, 2008

 

 

Comments

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