In the U.S., ads about weight usually come in the form of relatively thin women eating light yogurt. Awareness of obesity, especially in children, hasn't really taken off.
But in France, this ad has taken off—and it wasn't even approved to run.
The ad was made by David Lesage, a student in Belgium, but gained some press after the L'Express newspaper mistook it for an ad released by the French Ministry of Health and ran it in the paper.
The ad shows melting ice cream that also looks like an obese abdomen, with the caption, "L'obésité commence dès le plus jeune âge." Translation: "Obesity begins at a young age."
AdFreak spoke with Lesage, who said, "I really like to work on social causes in general. I think obesity seemed to be an important subject nowadays, and it has interesting creative potential."
Yeah, it's right up there with no-makeup selfies and genitals in socks. You know, the usual.