You know, if there is anyone on the planet that kids will listen to, its James Lipton.

Sexting, for those not familiar with it, is the idea of taking semi-nude/nude photos with your cell phone and texting them to someone, or they can also just be suggestive written messages.  It is becoming a larger and larger problem with teens today, and so the LG cell phone company decided to launch an advertising campaign entitled Give It A Ponder to try to teach kids why this is a bad idea.

They hired James Lipton, best known as the host of Inside The Actor’s Studio, to mock himself in the ad, and when a teen is ready to ponder if they should send the text, he loans them his beard to help them ponder.  The ads are cute and fluffy, and it’s always fun to watch Mr. Lipton mock himself.

The problem is that these ads are going to do absolutely nothing to help the problem, and launching this program in the wake of two teenage girls committing suicide over sexting incidents, this might not have been the wisest idea.  Admittedly I learned of both of the suicides and the ad campaign within a few hours of each other, so it was easy for me to connect the two in my mind, but it doesn’t change the fact that I think using humor to combat such a serious problem that is doing nothing but growing doesn’t seem like the best tact to take.

Teenagers are more sophisticated than people give them credit for, and trying to act “hip” never works with them.  Trying to act hip by using someone they probably aren’t even familiar with makes even less sense.

I highly suggest you do go read the post I linked above about Hope Witsell and Jesse Logan, and then see how you feel about the ad posted below (more in the series can be found at the GiveItAPonder YouTube channel).  Yes, people need to be educated as to what sexting is and the possible ramifications of the action, I just don’t think this was the right idea in the wake of deaths.  Perhaps pamphlets put in the monthly bills?  Another at the time you sign up for service?  Information sent home from school?  All viable.  James Lipton’s beard?  Not so mcuh.