Ad Council has just launched a new campaign targeted towards youth in an effort to initiate conversations about digital dating abuse. Since the advent of social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook, the latest generation of tech-savy teenagers have heard many of the same sound bytes and words of warning for years – think before you post, beware of online predators, etc – all necessary messages and not to be taken lightly, especially when kids are concerned.

Thats Not Cool, however, is a bit different. It is an effective campaign that doesn’t impose restrictions or dictate the do’s and don’ts of the internet – but rather tries to bring awareness to an issue and communicate with teens through the mediums they are accustomed to. Ultimately, the purpose of the campaign is to remind youth that being disrespected in the virtual world or through any form of digital communication (there is a heavy focus on networking sites, im’ing and texting) is, well, simply put: not cool. Thats Not Cool encourages teens who are dating, but feeling controlled or pressured through their partner’s constant digital stalking, to initiate conversations about privacy and trust, both on and offline.

The message is an important one, and is reaching a generation that doesn’t know dating without multiple avenues for communication. Thats Not Cool, seems to really understand this audience and has done an excellent job embracing the digital and interactive realm to spread their message: Thats Not Cool has videos on Youtube, interactive videos on their website, user videos, message boards, facebook and myspace sharing (as well as groups on both sites), e-cards, etc. Perhaps a testament to the success of the campaign is that I discovered it through Facebook. All in all, Thats Not Cool, is pretty cool.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 24th, 2009 at 2:55 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.