Letter: activists are not amused

IN Opinion | 22/09/2004

One more child labourer for one more wicket and one more Pepsi & one more case of child abuse for Coffee Bite.

Children sell and a child sells. So, put children in any form to sell your product is a time-tested formula for the ad world. Ad agencies and companies  have been using children in advertisements and campaigns. In the recent past, child rights activists  had protested the use of children in advertisements in bad light and taste.

 ·  Hero Honda - using shoe shine children

 ·  Warehouse - slapping a street child to show the
 attitude.

Now, the advertisements on the most powerful TV media  have come back, abusing child rights. Pepsi has come back with a child labourer serving the drink to the Indian cricket team. The multinational company is making a desperate bid to grab the attention of the middle class and especially, that of children.  We protest using a child as a server/supplier/labourer  taking Pepsi to the "Indian Cricket Team".

India is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights  of the Child and is committed to put an end to child  labour in any form. (Article 32)

The ad also shows the child using a dangerous way to  reach the team, and the team waiting for the child to come and serve the drink. A multi national company has made the completely Indian team, thereby the whole of India endorsing the use of child labour.

It is neither amusing nor encouraging. We urge the  immediate withdrawal of the advertisement from all the channels and all media and the issue of a public apology for using children in bad shape and violating the rights of the children.

Coffee Bite , a Parry product, in its new TV ad  campaign makes a child to behave like an adult and even utter a foul word to describe a woman. This is a violation of the rights of the children. Media has a role and responsibility in safe guarding the rights of the child (Article 13  and 17 of CRC - not to use the  media to undermine the dignity of children and  harm the sense of morality.)

The ad is not a joke and should be taken very seriously by all those who believe in upholding the rights of the children.

We protest the use of children in this bad light and   urge   the immediate   withdrawal of the advertisement from all channels, in all languages and  the issual of a public apology for using children in an ugly manner.

VASUDEVA SHARMA

 Director Projects , CRT - Child Rights Trust
 Bangalore Coordinator,  Campaign Against Child Labour
 (CACL)

Bangalore

September 19, 2004