‘Shocking’ new ads target teen pregnancy

Jace Radke

Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2000 | 11:09 a.m.

Dirty, cheap and useless aren't words that generally inspire, but creators of a new series of hard-hitting public service announcements about the consequences of teen pregnancy hope they will motivate.

The six ads, which begin running nationally on Wednesday, are another tool for Nevada prevention groups combating one of the country's highest teen pregnancy rates.

Though Nevada's teen pregnancy rate has been dropping, the state still ranks fourth in the country with a rate of 107.5 pregnancies among every 1,000 girls between the ages of 15 and 19, according to national statistics cited by the state's Human Resources Division.

The public service announcements, launched by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, are designed to reach that age group in Nevada and around the country on a stark, emotional level, campaign spokesman Bill Albert said.

"A lot of people will be shocked by the ads and some will be offended, and that's the point," Albert said. "Teens live in a very cluttered media world, and it's tough to get around that, but we think these ads will work because they don't look like an average public service announcement.

"Teens have what I call do-gooder-radar, and if they see something obviously coming from some adult organization they can easily pick it out."

The ads, which will be distributed to more than 8,000 magazines and newspapers, feature a picture of a teen, who could just as easily be featured in a Gap ad, Albert said.

Each ad has one of six words -- dirty, cheap, reject, nobody, prick or useless -- printed across the picture. Running vertically down the left side of the ads is a short line of type using the key word.

One reads, "Condoms are cheap. If we'd used one, I wouldn't have to tell my parents I'm pregnant." Another states, "All it took was one prick to get my girlfriend pregnant. At least that's what her friends say."

A third reads, "I had sex so my boyfriend wouldn't reject me. Now, I have a baby. And no boyfriends."

The ads are a product of a survey conducted by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, a nonprofit organization founded in 1996. The survey showed that 40 percent of those surveyed said they most wanted to hear from other teens about the consequences of sex, Albert said.

"We found that it was pretty evenly split with about 40 percent of teens looking for this information from parents and 40 percent wanting to hear from other teens," Albert said. "We wanted to direct this campaign to teens on a peer-to-peer level."

In Nevada the biggest gains in prevention have come with girls ages 15 to 17, state Human Resource spokeswoman Heidi Sakelarios said.

In 1996, 63 of every 1,000 girls in that age group were becoming pregnant, but that rate is now down to 46 of every 1,000.

The state has a goal of lowering the rate to 35 per 1,000 for teens 15-17 by 2005.

Nevada ranks behind only Delaware, Georgia and Texas in pregnancy rates for teens between the ages of 15 and 19. Sakelarios said a number of factors are responsible for Nevada's high rate.

"We have a relatively small population, so it doesn't take many pregnancies to push our numbers up," Sakelarios said. "Also the national statistics available are based on old population numbers that are usually a lot less than what the state's population is now.

"When we talk to teens, they tell us that they usually become pregnant after experimenting with drugs or alcohol, not because they planned it. Some also say that the state's 24-hour lifestyle leaves them with only adult-orientated things to do."

Along with public service messages, the state is working with hospitals and local groups and programs to educate teens about the consequences of sex.