Campaign targeting teens begins as kids head back to school
United Way of Greater Milwaukee, in collaboration with Serve Marketing, is launching a new “What You Can’t Do With A Baby” campaign that will get teens talking and delivers a strong message – your life will change drastically if you become a teen parent.
The ads depict a high school basketball player and a cheerleader in action, both with baby carriers attached to them and the message “Think your life won’t change with a baby?” The ads also direct teens to BabyCanWait.com, connecting them to information and resources to help prevent pregnancy and promote healthy relationships.
“We want our youth to know that if you become a teen parent, it is going to profoundly change your life.” said Nicole Angresano, vice president of Community Impact, United Way of Greater Milwaukee. “You’re going to miss out on a lot of opportunities, including sports and social activities. We want teens to be smart and make healthy choices that will leave all the doors open in the future!”
“We want these ads to make a lasting impact on teens, and by showing them all the things they would miss, we hope they think twice about the hard realities of teen pregnancy,” said Serve volunteer creative director, Gary Mueller. “Whether it’s playing basketball, cheerleading or just spending time with friends, when you have a baby as a teen, all of that will be over.”
The ads are strategically placed at bus shelters in areas with high teen pregnancy rates. It’s the latest tactic in the United Way-led Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative, which has been recently recognized as a national model for successful community collaboration.
Milwaukee’s teen birth rate is currently at a historically low level. City of Milwaukee health officials say the current trend indicates that Milwaukee should be on track to reduce the teen birth rate by 46% 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.