Recently, the “optical illusion dress” that came to worldwide attention was used in a Salvation Army public service announcement in South Africa. The announcement is targeting domestic violence against women and it uses the viral success of “The Dress.”
The ad featured a woman in a white and gold dress with a caption that reads, “Why is it so hard to see black and blue?”
The caption in the ad further reads: “The only illusion is if you think it was her choice. One in 6 women are victims of abuse. Stop abuse against women.”
The advertisement features the logo for Carehaven, a home for abused women and their children run by the Salvation Army.
The charity says Carehaven has helped more than 5,000 people.
Ireland/Davenport, the South African advertising agency behind the image, told BuzzFeed News in an emailed statement, “For the past few days the internet has been swarming with comments about ‘the dress’ – overall people have been commenting how they hate the fact that an insignificant thing like this could take priority on the internet over more pressing topics such as abuse.”
The agency’s creative team created it within 24 hours and then approached the Salvation Army to ask if they would like to put their name to ad.
“After the idea had been cracked by the team there was no time to spare. We approached the Salvation Army and they were nothing but helpful and overjoyed to help us get their message out there,” the agency said. “With the help of favors from suppliers and production we managed to create and publish the ad in a day.”
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