You can't teach a hungry child.

I was sitting in front of my PC while thinking what my blog post for this week would be. I started eating a banana but all I really want was a toasted chicken mayo Panini. It was terrible; I could hardly concentrate on my daily Facebook stalking. I was starving! Then my mind travelled back to an ad for the Peninsula School Feeding Association that I saw a few weeks ago. The foolish feeling that it invoked swallowed the hunger. Damn first world problems. It seems guilt may be an affective diet choice for me.

The Peninsula School Feeding Association was founded 55 years ago in order to provide meals to children in primary, secondary and special needs schools in the Western Cape who can't afford it. Their adverts ask for donations to help insure that school children don't have to think about their next meal, but about the schoolwork they are supposed to be doing so that they can better their lives for the future

Peninsula School Feeding Association: Pear, Drumstick and Banana by Draft FCB Cape Town

The Peninsula School Feeding Association ad campaign touches upon a pressing problem in South African schools: hungry children. This ad series shows an almost blank exam pad page, the lines are curved in order to look like an outline of a pear, a banana and a chicken drumstick respectively. Below the drawings is a line of hand-written text saying "It's all they can think about". The body copy reads: Concentrating on schoolwork is impossible when the only thing on your mind is your next meal. You can help! Your donation will feed hungry children, allowing them to reach their full potential. Visit www.psfa.org.za to find out more.

The creatives who came up with this ad were trying to put us in the position of the hungry school child by featuring a very well-known sight from all of our school days, a blank exam pad. We have all faced this terrifying blue-lined expanse of whiteness more than once in our lives. The reason for ours being blank however was probably not because we didn't have enough money to feed ourselves but because we had stayed up too late the night before or we were suffering from a sugar crash from our Nutella slathered croissant breakfast. Never the less we can all relate to the blank page on a superficial level.

The curved blue lines that make up the food outlines almost look like a mirage. I know when I am craving something I see it everywhere; in tree bark, clouds, freckle formations, everywhere. Cravings are distracting and consuming and can get in the way of a great manner of things. Unfortunately for these children the distraction isn't going to disappear after they tuck into the hearty lunch mommy packed for them. I think the words written below work very well in cursive as it helps with the school vibe that they are trying to create.

The ad is pretty emotive and makes my problems seem pretty trivial. I think that the way they have executed this ad is eye catching because it is uncluttered and simple while still interesting enough to keep reading on to the body copy.

I am proud to see that these ads were created by Cape Town based agency Draft FCB. One day I hope to contribute my brain matter to important campaigns like this one.

On another note, I definitely have a new-found respect for my banana