Chicago is the city of the United States that records the rate of early pregnancies the highest in the United States since it grew by 33% between 1999 and 2009 in the city. The scale of the phenomenon speaks volumes about the immense task incumbent on public authorities to educate young people affected by this unprotected sexuality. To be more audible to teens, girls and boys alike, the Chicago public health department has decided to swap the boring posters promoting condoms, the pilland other means of contraception against more provocative photos. Judge for yourself: a blond-haired boy dressed in skater pants and sneakers poses shirtless in front of the camera like an ad for a famous brand of jeans, except that the model denotes models of his age by the exuberant roundness of his belly. Yes, you saw that this man is pregnant, the poster seems to say. To make sure the message gets across, the photo caption calls out to passers-by: “Unexpected? Most teenage pregnancies are. Avoid unwanted pregnancies or sexually transmitted infections. Or wait.”
The effect worked, at least with the media. Brian Richardson, spokesperson for the Chicago Department of Public Health, interviewed by Today.com is pleased with the result: “We wanted to create an advertising campaign that could shock and inspire people to think about teenage pregnancies and about the way it affected young girls. That’s why the campaign was so successful. ”
This campaign could serve as a source of inspiration in France where it is estimated that a third of pregnancies are unwanted.