Child Guardian

Children play a leading role in many publicity campaigns. Let's take a closer look at this: how are these children shown? What message is brought across? It matters to Terre des hommes (Tdh), as does it to Swiss Advertising (PS) and Publicité Romande, that children are protected when they are an integral part of a commercial communication and that their appearance should be neither discriminatory, unseemly, nor even excessively significant.

The Child Guardian Prize for child protection in Switzerland

On Publicity Day www.tagdernichtwerbung.ch, 6 May, 2011, we again singled out one agency and one advertiser in the categories of Press (advertisements and posters) and TV spots who met our selection criteria. Although the winner receives only a symbolic sum, the prize money flows directly into measures for child protection in Switzerland. A specialist jury has previously selected the winners from among the past year’s publicity makers.

Infoline (English, german, french, italian) childguardian@tdh.ch or contact us by phone: 058 611 07 12.

The winners 2011

In the category “Billboard & printed ad”

Gasverbund Mittelland AG (by Startbahnwest AG)

In German

In French

In this picture we can see four children having fun in a sack race on a well kept lawn. This image represents an ordinary situation, children playing, and has a natural energy.

Jury’s summary:
The award of the prize in the “poster & advert” category was difficult for the adult members of the jury, all experts in communication or child protection. The final selection included three subjects. Each of the final three subjects had been awarded the same number of points by the adults so it was impossible to choose a winner on the basis of these criteria. As for the children, they spontaneously and intuitively chose their winner almost unanimously. So the president of the jury followed the children’s opinion and decided in favour of Gasverbund Mittelland AG.

In the category “TV spot”

Swiss railway company – “Sergio, Benoît and Beat at the museum” (by Contexta AG)

See the spot in German

See the spot in French

This TV ad shows three men standing all rigid and twisted, in a museum, exactly like a piece of art beside them. A little boy pushes a stool up to them, climbs up on it and twists one of the men’s moustaches to see if it’s real.

Jury’s summary:
This advert is easy to understand and does not focus on one idea alone. The boy is curious, he acts boldly without hesitation when he touches the adult’s moustache. The boy has a casting role in this short but funny story. He is represented as a whole and separate personality who has not been manipulated."

The 2011 jury

President
Evelyne Hug, Fondation Terre des hommes, Berne
Members
Urs Beer, Consulting, Stäfa-Zurich
Hervé Devanthéry, Publicité Romande, Lausanne
Dr. Esther Girsberger, Publiciste, Zurich
Urs Schnider, Publicité suisse PS, Zurich
Ronja Tschuemperlin, Experte en droits de l’enfant, Berne
Class 7VSB1, Ecole Azur, Saint-Prex

Our selection criteria

Terre des hommes distances itself from the radical position which regards any child representation in publicity as equivalent to exploitation. However, it is not our intention to launch discussions on the image and role of children in advertising.
The Child Guardian Prize singles out publicity campaigns in which children are shown with their own personalities and are taken seriously, without denying their childhood.

The Child Guardian 2011 rules

In German:

CG_Reglement_D.pdf

In French:

CG_Reglement_fr.pdf