The Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P) is using the analogy of a Trojan horse to warn parents about granting kids unfettered access to smart devices.
In its latest PSA, informed by the fact that 29% of children having been sent sexually explicit content online, the organization’s 60-second short film, “The Horse,” is an urgent call for parents to demand legislative change across the globe.
“We set out to capture the scenario that keeps every parent up at night,” says Alexis Bronstorph, CCO at No Fixed Address, the agency responsible for the work.
“A through-line of all our work for the Canadian Centre for Child Protection is the objective, which is always to protect children and do whatever we can to educate parents on dangers in today’s changing landscape,” says Bronstorph. “Last year we shed light on the scale of the issue; this year the focus is on a predator’s newest way in – through cellphones.”
In the filming of “The Horse,” Bronstorph says it drew on cinematic elements to add tension to the viewing experience, driving home the magnitude of the problem.
Over the past five years, reports of online sexual luring of children to Cybertip.ca, Canada’s national tip line for reporting online child sexual violence, have increased by 815%. With 89% of youth sexual solicitations made in online chat rooms, the urgency this year is greater than ever.
“We give our children phones to keep them safe but in reality, they’re the Trojan horse when online platforms are left unregulated,” says Bronstorph.
Media placements in movie theatres, major dailies and online platforms are meant to drive parents to take a short survey and get governments across the world to step up and act.
Concerned citizens are invited to spread the awareness by viewing and sharing the PSA at protectchildren.ca/TheHorse.
For the first time, the initiative is backed by several of C3P’s global partners, including 5Rights Foundation, Fairplay, ECPAT Sweden, Suojellaan Lapsia, Innocence in Danger Germany and the Marie Collins Foundation.
Bronstorph explains that while donations to C3P are always welcome, the goals of “The Horse” are to educate parents to be aware of the dangers online and to spark actionable, legislative change.
NFA handled media for this campaign. C3P executed the paid social media portion.
