IN THE WAR ON DRUGS, IS THIS PICTURE SIMPLY A SHOCK TOO FAR?

Barnardo's condemned for 'distasteful and distressing advert' By Laura Clark

Sitting in a squalid room, a baby uses his teeth to tighten a tourniquet
around his arm. In one hand is a heroin-filled syringe, which he is
preparing to inject.

The contorted expression on the child's face as he pulls the band tighter
makes the image even more distressing.

With shock value in mind, the picture is about to be emblazoned around the
country as the latest tactic in an advertising campaign by the children's
charity Barnardo's.

Last night family campaigners condemned the image as a step too far.

Valerie Riches, of Family Youth Concern, said: 'This is highly emotional
advertising, almost to the point of being hysterical.

'It is overkill and could be counter productive.

'It may shock people but will it actually help the situation?

'I believe people will think it has just gone too far.

'I've been concerned for some months about the hysterical nature of some
advertisements. I find them very distasteful - they just go too far.'

Featuring a baby sitting on a litter-strewn floor in nothing but a nappy,
the advert is intended to show what can happen to abused, underprivileged or
disadvantaged children if charities such as Barnardo's cannot help them
early on.

The text which accompanies the photo, which will be launched nationwide
tomorrow, reads: John Donaldson - aged 23.

'Battered as a child, it was always possible that John would turn to drugs.
With Barnardo's help, child abuse need not lead to an empty future.' The
image is the fifth and by far the most shocking in a series of poster and
newspaper adverts for the charity.

Others on the theme of 'giving children back their future' have included a
girl on a blanket in the street, suggesting she would become homeless in
later life if not helped now.

More adverts on the same theme are expected to follow.

The chilling image echoes the tactics of another children's charity, the
NSPCC, which featured Action Man, pop stars and Rupert Bear in a child abuse
campaign just over a year ago.

According to many, such tactics work. The NSPCC raised awareness and funds
through its campaign and Barnardo's is hoping to do the same.

It also wants to get across the message that it no longer runs orphanages -
what it used to be famous for - but now does much more widespread work with
troubled children.

Marketing director Andrew Nebel said: 'We wanted to show that any drug
addict was once a baby with a whole future ahead of him or her. This is not
gratuitous, shocking or distressing.

'This is talking about the real world.'

The photograph, masterminded by the ad agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty, was
created using a computer to join together several different images.

The baby's body is from a normal shot of him sitting on the floor.

The litter and the stains were added by the computer, along with the
tourniquet and the syringe.

The contorted expression on the child's face is taken from a photograph of
him eating chocolate.