Deaf news: Loud Music advertising campaign features ears being hammered and drilled

The charity Action on Hearing Loss has launched an edgy advertising campaign called Loud Music, which features ears being hammered and drilled to make more young people aware that listening to loud music can cause tinnitus and hearing loss.

The images will be displayed across Camden in London on billboards, telephone boxes, and in cinemas, with free protective devices given away during an upcoming music festival.

Ad agency Hat Trick also created a video advert for the campaign, which will be rolled out nationwide (note: there are no subtitles, the audio on the video is of a music beat that fades away and is followed by the sound of the drill)

This kind of visual imagery is pretty brutal, but as we’ve seen in the past, shock tactics have a way of getting through. Clearly here, there’s a desire to make young people connect loud music with the idea of damage that is hidden from view.

It can’t be denied that these ads will attract the attention of young people, but being rather gruesome, they also carry an element of risk, so it’ll be interesting to see what the response from the media and public is like.

For more information, go to the Action on Hearing Loss website: http://www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk/news-and-events/london/news/hard-hitting-new-advertising-campaign.aspx

By Charlie Swinbourne, Editor

The Limping Chicken is supported by Deaf media company Remark!, training and consultancy Deafworks, and provider of sign language services Deaf Umbrella.