Sextortion, particularly for boys, has been on the rise since the COVID-19 pandemic, and a new campaign from a British Columbia social services organization is garnering attention for its eye-catching creative that raises awareness on the matter.

Children of the Street, a British Columbia-based organization fighting to keep youth safe from sexual exploitation, unveiled its “Don’t Put Your D*ck Here” campaign earlier this month. Developed with agency Will Creative, the campaign’s goal is to educate teenage boys about the dangers of sharing sexual images of themselves online.

The campaign includes OOH, social and video ads that equate the danger of sharing a sexual photo in a DM with dangerous objects like a mouse trap, cactus or hornet’s nest.

“The campaign’s aim is to alert teenage boys of this danger in a fun – as humour has been proven to engage this audience – and thought-provoking way; to grab and hold their attention and to lead them to our website where they can learn how to keep themselves safe, and what to do if sextortion happens to them,” says Neely Yuda, Children of the Street manager.

Sextortion is when predators persuade someone to send intimate images or video of a sexual nature, only to use that material as blackmail to demand more images or money. Children of the Street’s data shows that the number of reported child or youth online sextortion cases has spiked in B.C. since the pandemic, and that in 2023, the vast majority (90%) of sextortion incidents reported to CyberTip affected boys, typically aged 15 to 17.

Aimed at teenage boys ages 13 to 17, the new campaign’s message is to alert them that predators may target them for financial gain, and that sending intimate images and videos can be risky. Yuda says the group hopes the creative’s humour will resonate with teenagers, and position it as a go-to resource for that audience. The new campaign marks the first time Children of the Street has targeted boys specifically in its marketing.

“The evolution is a reflection of the trends we’re seeing in sexual exploitation of kids. This campaign is also, probably, the boldest campaign our program has put out there,” Yuda says. “Teenage boys are a notoriously hard-to-reach audience, and in order to alert them of this danger, approaching them with humour and speaking to them in their language was crucial.”

Children of the Street’s campaign had to overcome a challenge in that teen boys are often unaware of the threat they face from online sexual predators, or feel so comfortable in online communities that they might not consider they could be targets. The campaign’s provocative nature was part of an effort to find a tone that will appeal to teen boys, and allow awareness of the campaign to spread, adds Will executive creative director Lisa Lebedovich.

The eight-week campaign is also looking to boost brand awareness, Yuda says, reaching new audiences in posters across the Greater Vancouver Area, on social media and through mainstream media.