Amongst the glitter and glam of prom, teen girls will come across an eye-opening reality
Mannequin dresses will read,“A prom date is better without a due date” or “Teenage pregnancy - there’s nothing romantic about it.”
Teen girls shopping for prom dresses will see something a little different in stores this spring. While searching for the perfect dress, these girls will be stunned as three dress shops in the Milwaukee area will be displaying a prom dress on a pregnant mannequin; a tactic designed to alert teen girls to think twice about having a baby.
The pregnant mannequins were installed in stores the week of March 26. Messages attached to price tags on the mannequin dresses will read, “A prom date is better without a due date” or “Teenage pregnancy – there’s nothing romantic about it.” The tags will also direct teens to BabyCanWait.com, where students can learn more about the ways to prevent pregnancy and discover community resources.
“We are keenly aware there are teens currently pregnant and/or parenting, and we will continue to support programs that provide them every opportunity for success. However, we also know from talking to teens that traditional, soft tactics don’t work,” said Nicole Angresano, vice president of community impact, United Way of Greater Milwaukee. “If we want to change the behavior of teens, we need to use bold and aggressive methods to get their attention.”
This guerilla marketing campaign, created by Serve Marketing, is part of an ongoing United Way-led effort to educate teens about the hard realities of teen pregnancy. Late last year, City of Milwaukee officials along with United Way announced Milwaukee’s teen birth rate was at a historically low level. Officials say the current trend indicates that Milwaukee should be on track to reach its goal of 30 births per 1,000 by 2015, a goal which was set by United Way of Greater Milwaukee, the Center for Urban Population Health and the Milwaukee Health Department in 2008.
“In order for teens to hear our message, we need to continue to catch them by surprise and reach them where they least expect it,” explains Serve volunteer Creative Director, Gary Mueller. “We hope putting pregnant mannequins in prom dress stores will make teens think twice about the consequences of teen pregnancy.”
Store locations:
Torrence’s House of Threads (2 Locations – installing around 1pm Thursday)
4722 W. Fond Du Lac Ave.
Milwaukee WI, 53216
*Main*
7732 W. Burleigh St.
Milwaukee, WI 53222
Store itself opens at 10am
Hallelujah Fashion (installing after 4:30pm Thursday)
1020 W. Historic Mitchell St.
Milwaukee WI, 53204
Store itself opens at 10am