MAM
US Ad Council’s PSAs seek to prevent online sexual exploitation of girls
MUMBAI: The Advertising Council, in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the US have launched a series of public service advertisements (PSAs).
The PSAs have been designed to raise awareness about the prevalence of online sexual exploitation and to help teenage girls better protect themselves against online sexual predators. The new PSAs are the second instalment of the campaign, which began in May 2004 and the debut this month was timed to coincide with Internet Safety Month.
NCMEC and the Ad Council launched the campaign to remind families that, just like in the “real” world, there are people who want to harm children in the “virtual” world. With the advent of the Internet, many child-predators have quickly adapted to the technology and use it to contact potential victims in their attempts to perpetrate crimes against children.
According to a US Department of Justice study, of the estimated 24 million child Internet-users, one in five has received unwanted sexual solicitations. Teen girls are the primary target, receiving two-thirds of the solicitations. NCMEC cases and focus group testing also show that many teen girls are particularly susceptible to these predators because they tend to be more focused on relationships.
The new PSAs are an extension of the first multi-media campaign in the US designed to address this issue. The initial round of PSAs aimed to educate parents about what they could do to protect their children online, whereas the new ads target the teens themselves. The new PSAs seek to prevent girls from forming inappropriate online relationships with older men in an effort to reduce their risks of sexual exploitation and abduction. The television, radio, magazine and Internet ads direct teens to visit www.cybertipline.com to get tips on how to prevent, detect, and report online sexual exploitation.
In the first six months of the Online Sexual Exploitation campaign, the parent-targeted PSAs have received more than $29 million in donated advertising time and space from the media. In addition, according to a recent Ad Council study, parents who saw the PSAs were significantly more likely to have talked to their children about the potential dangers of chatting online with people you don’t know.
The new television and radio spots, which are also available in Spanish show teen girls how easily a predator can manipulate their insecurities and end with the tagline Don’t Believe the Type.
As per the Ad Council model, the PSAs are beinh distributed to more than 28,000 media outlets across the US later this month and will run and air in advertising time and space donated by the media. NCMEC president Ernie Allen says, “Our goal is to reach teens before predators do. The Ad Council campaign has proven successful in reaching adults, and we hope that our message will carry over to teen girls to help them identify, prevent and report sexual exploitation they encounter while online.”
MAM
Catch launches TVC for iodised pink rock salt push
DS Group expands beyond spices with campaign going live April 20
MUMBAI: A pinch of salt just got a personality and a prime-time slot to match. Catch Salt & Spices, part of the Dharampal Satyapal Group, has rolled out its first television campaign for Catch Premium Iodised Pink Rock Salt, signalling a clear step beyond its core spices and sprinklers play. Conceptualised by Dentsu Creative Webchutney, the campaign leans into a product-led narrative, aiming to build awareness in the relatively less-explored salt segment. The film goes live from April 20 across television and digital platforms, including social media and OTT, as the brand seeks scale and visibility.
Set in a neighbourhood play area, the TVC swaps hard selling for a slice-of-life moment. Two mothers chat while their children hover nearby until a young girl takes centre stage, confidently breaking down the origins and benefits of pink rock salt. The message lands softly but clearly: even everyday ingredients now come with a story.
The creative pivot reflects a broader shift in consumer behaviour. Salt, long treated as a commodity, is being reframed as a conscious choice part health cue, part lifestyle signal. By placing a child at the centre of the narrative, the film plays on the idea that awareness is no longer confined to adults; it’s trickling down, reshaping household decisions.
For DS Group, the campaign marks more than a product launch, it’s a category expansion. With Catch already established in spices, the move into salt positions the brand to tap into adjacent kitchen essentials, while reinforcing its long-standing thought that food is more than just fuel.
In a market where differentiation is often hard to sprinkle in, Catch is betting that storytelling and a dash of everyday relatability can do the heavy lifting.
