Italians Put Fetus on the Rocks in Ad Campaign

ROME (May 25) -- A shock ad campaign featuring a fetus submerged in a cocktail with ice and a slice of lemon has been plastered on the streets in the northern Italian city of Treviso.

The provocative poster bearing the line "Mom Drinks, Baby Drinks" was commissioned by the Italian public heath agency in Treviso as part of an effort to convince women to shun alcohol during pregnancy.

Produced by Fabrica, the edgy communication agency of the Italian clothing company Benetton, the ad has gone up on billboards and buses. Fliers and stickers bearing the controversial image have been placed in hospitals and in the toilets of bars and clubs.

The ad plays upon the popular Italian "spritz" cocktail, made of Aperol or Campari, dry white wine and carbonated water and finished with an olive or a slice of lemon or orange.

Recently released statistics show that almost two-thirds of Italian women drink some alcohol while pregnant. While scientists differ on the effects of small amounts of alcohol, heavy drinking has long been linked to a set of developmental problems known as fetal alcohol syndrome. In a study released earlier this month, French researchers found that drinking during pregnancy significantly increases the risk of a child developing acute myeloid leukemia, an often fatal blood cancer.

The European Alcohol Policy Alliance, a Brussels, Belgium-based consortium of nongovernmental organizations, identifies drinking during pregnancy as "the leading known cause of birth defects and developmental disorders in the EU." It estimates that one out of every 100 newborns have health problems because their mothers drank alcohol during pregnancy or breast feeding.

The campaign has the support of Fipe-Confcommercio, a pro-business organization that lobbies on behalf of the restaurant and entertainment industry.

"This campaign's peculiarity requires a certain sensibility and preparation, and we have for years focused on these themes of dependence and abuse," Franco Zoppe, the president of Fipe-Confcommerico, told the Italian daily newspaper Libero. "We have collaborated with diverse subjects, and we are convinced that education instead of prohibition is both necessary and important."

Fabrica is known for the provocative ads it has done for Benetton, which has its headquarters in Treviso. The agency's ads by famed photographer Oliviero Toscani, featuring people of all races, helped establish the brand. But some images, such as one of a priest kissing a nun, were criticized as crass attempts to shock and offend.