ISPCC's 'I Can't Wait Until I Grow Up' Child Abuse Ad

This television ad by the ISPCC is a little shocking, but very moving.

(The video originally embedded here is no longer available on YouTube.)

The short film was made for the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC), Ireland's best-known children's charity. Its credits and date match the ISPCC's 2011 television campaign from Ogilvy Dublin, known by its closing line, "I can't wait until I grow up". In it, a small boy speaks about the ordinary things every child should be able to expect: safety, love and the right to be happy. The pictures around his words make clear that, for him, those things are missing.

Who made the ISPCC advert

The spot was directed by Richie Smyth. According to the credits published with it, it was produced by Blinder and edited by John O’Connor at the Dublin post-production house Windmill Lane.

The advertising archive Ads of the World lists a 2011 ISPCC film called "Growing Up" with the same director, made by the agency Ogilvy in Dublin. Its creative team is given as creative director Colin Nimick, art director Des Kavanagh and copywriter Laurence O'Byrne. The film ran for around 40 seconds, which is why it later circulated online as "the 40-second TV commercial".

What the film showed

The idea is simple and hard to watch. A young boy talks about what he hopes growing up will bring him: to be safe, to be loved and to be happy. Published accounts of the film say it also shows him being assaulted by a man. The closing line turns his wish to be older into something painful, because growing up becomes the only escape he can imagine.

The still above, taken from the film, shows the boy with a mark on his forehead. The video itself is no longer available on YouTube, so we describe it only from published accounts rather than in shot-by-shot detail.

Why the advert was banned in Ireland

The campaign drew both praise and complaints. When TheJournal.ie asked readers about it in 2011, most described its picture of violence against a small boy as "graphic but real".

In September 2011 the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI) upheld a complaint against the advert. The objection was not to the violence as such but to gender equality: the ad showed a man assaulting the child, and the ASAI noted that the charity's earlier adverts had also shown only male abusers. The ISPCC took the film off its own website but did not remove it from YouTube, and argued that the ruling would make it harder to produce material about child abuse.

The case shows a real tension in this kind of campaign. A film has to show a specific abuser to be believable, yet abuse is carried out by people of every gender and background, and a series of ads that always shows the same type of person can leave a misleading impression.

The charity soon changed approach. In August 2011, posters appeared in Dublin showing the pop duo Jedward with make-up cuts and bruises, next to a message that nothing can happen to a child that cannot be fixed by someone who cares. Louis Walsh and the actress Saoirse Ronan also took part in that series.

The ISPCC and Childline: a short history

The ISPCC was founded on 18 January 1956 as the successor to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, which had worked in Ireland since 1889. The first Irish branch opened in Dublin in May of that year, followed by Cork and Belfast in 1891.

Its early inspectors, popularly known as "cruelty men", investigated reports of neglect and abuse. Social workers took over that role in 1968, and the health boards took on other functions from 1970. The society's history is not without shadow: the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse found that it had played an important part in committing children to industrial schools, although missing records make the full extent unclear.

Today its best-known service is Childline, a free, anonymous and confidential listening service available around the clock by phone and online. The charity says Childline has more than 100,000 conversations with children every year. The ISPCC also runs a support line for adults worried about a child, anti-bullying and online-safety programmes, and the National Missing Children's Hotline, 116000. Most of its income, around 80 per cent, comes from fundraising, which is one reason its campaigns aim to be remembered.

Why charities use hard-hitting advertising

Child protection charities face a difficult problem. Most abuse happens behind closed doors, the children involved often cannot speak up, and the adults around them may not want to believe it. A short advert has a few seconds to make a viewer stop and imagine one particular child.

That is why films like this rely on a single voice and a single home rather than statistics. The risk is that shock wears off, upsets survivors or is judged unfair, as the ASAI ruling showed. Many later campaigns, including the ISPCC's own, have leaned more on hope and on the message that help exists. Both approaches share the same practical aim: making sure that a child, or a worried adult, knows who to call.

Where to get help

If you are a child or young person in Ireland, up to and including the age of 18, you can call Childline free on 1800 66 66 66, at any time of the day or night, or chat online at Childline.ie. You can talk about anything, and the service is private and non-judgemental.

Adults who are worried about a child in Ireland can contact the ISPCC Support Line through the charity's website. If a child is in immediate danger, call the emergency services on 999 or 112. Outside Ireland, contact your local police, child protection services or national children's helpline.

Sources: ISPCC; ISPCC Childline; Wikipedia: Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; Ads of the World: ISPCC "Growing Up" (Ogilvy Dublin, 2011); Copyranter: six of the most powerful PSAs; TheJournal.ie, August 2011; Windmill Lane Post.

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