Are these human trafficking ads over the line?

This first one (via I Believe in Advertising, who also provided creative team credits) is about the brutality and slave-labour conditions some women endure when they get caught up in human trafficking. The other two (after the break) take the graphic suffering even further, with line art depictions of men having sex with young girls in disgusting brothels.

I have two major reservations about this campaign. First, the cartoonishness of the execution seems to take away from the extreme gravity of the situation, reducing it to a “Where’s Waldo” level. Second, even a negative depiction of this kind of sexual activity might provoke an unintended reaction in the kind of people who would frequent such a place. (Check out the joking comments on the Copyranter source post.)

Oh, and a third one: ick.

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