The Very Scary Masks In This Alcohol Abuse PSA Are Giving Me Nightmares

Alcohol abuse and alcoholism and getting crazy drunk around your kids is never a good idea. I drank a beer last night. I don’t abuse alcohol but I do like a nice glass of wine on occasion or a beer, especially when coupled with pizza. My kids have seen their parents drink, but I don’t think any of them have seen either of us utterly bombed out wasted. I can’t throw down like I used to before I had kids. Booze makes me sleepy and I loathe hangovers, listening to grating little voices argue over whether or not the cat can understand English, having to cook and clean and do laundry with that sickly fuzzy blech feeling seeping out of my pores. No thank you. Unfortunately, there are a lot of parents who do abuse alcohol, and who do it quite frequently. For these parents comes a terrifying new ad from Finnish agency Euro RSCG Helsinki for a charity called Fragile Childhood.
[youtube_iframe id=”XwdUXS94yNk”]

Scary! Very scary masks and drunk monsters and alcohol abuse and this is the stuff of nightmares, people. The copy asks: “How do our childen see us when we’ve been drinking?” and it’s obvious our kids see us as giant monster bunnies with horrifying teeth who abuse alcohol. Or as freaky Santa Clause types who impatiently help them take off their backpacks in school.

This is such an effective ad and it will make me think twice about ever having an extra glass of wine in front of my own kids. I can remember my own parents getting a bit blitzed when I was little (It was the 1970s after all) and it did freak me out and even though I didn’t view them as monsters in scary masks, it did make me feel sort of scared and uncomfortable. The idea of a little one who deals with a parent and alcohol abuse on a daily basis is heartbreaking. I hope this advertisement helps to enlighten some parents about how alcohol abuse can affect their children and makes them think about seeking help.

(photo:  Euro RSCG Helsinki  Fragile Childhood PSA)