London - A powerful press advertisement to raise awareness of the evil and scale of human trafficking - a form of "modern slavery" - was recently unleashed by Saatchi & Saatchi for London-based charity Anti-Slavery International. It is the world's oldest international human rights charity.
The advertisement features the famous 18th Century image of the inhuman conditions on a transatlantic slave ship, The Brookes, superimposed onto a modern aeroplane. Creative duo Howard Green and Pablo Videla developed the thought-provoking advertisement.
The first execution appeared in the Guardian G2 section on 23rd March, to coincide with the bicentenary of the abolition of slavery. Sunday 25 March 2007 marks 200 years to the day since a Parliamentary Bill was passed to abolish the slave trade in the then British Empire.
Today, human trafficking involves the movement of people through violence, deception or coercion for the purpose of exploiting them. It is a global problem with an estimated 5,000 people at any one time in the UK being held against their will and driven into prostitution and other forced labour. Worldwide, it is estimated that at least 12 million people, many of them children, are living in modern forms of slavery.
Kate Stanners, executive creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi, said: "The true extent of human trafficking is horrifying. These ads will highlight the modern enslavement that is taking place on all our doorsteps."