I think this is a great ad, which really shows the way images, how we see those images, our world-views, and how we are situated in power structures are intertwined. I thought for a minute that there was one problem: who says that favelas are necessarily ‘bad’ places? But I don’t think the ad is connatating that. It is (re)presenting how we see and understand the favela, asking us to think about the way we think about things, itself.

On the way home from Blueprint Design every day, I see a billboard of Care’s most recent ad campaign, using the slogan ‘I Am Powerful’

I have mixed feelings about this strategy. I see how they’re trying to not show the subject as a victim, thus changing the traditional power structure of the ad audience and the recipient of Care’s aid. I’m not sure if this achieves their aim however, in fact, it may be patronizing or even reiterate the power structure.