Milwaukee Health Department Creates Bionic Babies

I was driving in to work this morning when I noticed a billboard informing motorists that a breastfed baby is a stronger baby. While the message surely resonated with me, the visual images taunted me as I drove by. 

Muscular babies doing push ups, kick boxing and flexing their ripped biceps left me wondering ... just who had bioengineered these super babies?

After a little research, I discovered that this campaign is sponsored by the Milwaukee Health Department. Their goal is to encourage young mothers to adopt healthier behaviors with their babies, ultimately lowering Milwaukee's infant mortality rate. Links to other government sites help educate moms about smoking cessation, breast feeding and immunizations.

I love the premise of this campaign - healthier behaviors lead to healthier and stronger infants - but admittedly, the babies creep me out a bit. They just look so unnatural, almost plastic-like.

While my first reaction is to question the visual images used to portray these stronger babies, a part of me hesitates ... after all, what are the odds that I would have blogged about this campaign if I had not had a visceral reaction to these babies?

These unusual images of babies definitely made me stop and pay attention, suggesting that this visual device broke through the clutter and entered my consciousness. They made me listen to the messages being told. But, what about the other half of the equation: Will these ads be sufficiently motivating to new mothers to change their current behaviors?

Only time will tell whether the infant mortality rate in Milwaukee will decline. One can only hope that is the case.