Models and booking agents at UK agency Models Direct are apparently not the only ones to have been shocked by an adoption campaign featuring a child model that was recently launched by Merton Council.

The advertisement featured a child model wearing boxing gloves, and the caption “Now, no one can beat me!” but was withdrawn after causing offense to residents in Wimbledon where it appeared last month. Complaints were made on an internet forum after views were expressed that this was a highly inappropriate way to refer to the issue of child abuse.

A spokesperson for Merton Council is quoted on online news site This Is Local London as saying: “This campaign was designed to be thought-provoking and attract attention. Whether using a strong image or a play on words we needed to ensure the advert got people looking.

“Unfortunately many of Merton’s looked after children have experienced abuse and we wanted to highlight that removing them from this sort of environment and placing them with a foster family can enable them to thrive and develop in a positive way.”

There’s no denying that this advertisement attracted attention but it was arguably the wrong kind of attention for Merton – which, according to reports, is ‘the second worst local authority in the country for getting children through the care system and into an adoptive family.’

While bloggers at our modelling agency understand that shock tactics can work as a way of raising awareness, some felt that references to child abuse should always be treated with far more sensitivity than was shown in this instance.

What do you think? If this advertisement caused more people to consider adopting would it have been worth the offense it caused, or is this kind of reference to child abuse just wrong in any circumstances?

If you would like to find out more about adoption in the UK please visit the British Association for Adoption and Fostering webiste.