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#TheDress Is Being Used by the Salvation Army in a Controversial Domestic Violence Awareness Ad

The powerful ad features a bruised woman and asks "why is it so hard to see black and blue?"

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Using the power of the Internet for good, the South African chapter of The Salvation Army recently shared a new domestic awareness ad on Twitter that turns the debate about #TheDress into something much more powerful. The ad features a bruised woman wearing the infamous dress that broke the Internet and the message "Why is it so hard to see black and blue?"

A second caption on the poster reads: "The only illusion is if you think it was her choice. One in six women are victims of abuse. Stop abuse against women." We can all agree that the debate about the color of the dress that consumed our lives was stupid, but the message that the Salvation Army is conveying is important, and they were smart to use the biggest Internet event in recent memory to raise awareness of the issue days before International Women's Day (March 8).

Reactions to the ad on Twitter are mixed. While there are a lot of people who think that the ad is brilliant, others question whether or not using the dress detracts from the issue.

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I'm really disturbed by #TheSalvationArmy's #TheDress domestic violence ad because it isn't going to educate with sensationalism via memes.


— Miss Candice (@CandiceLikesYou) March 6, 2015

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Kudos to #TheSalvationArmy for using #TheDress in their new campaign to end domestic violence. That's how you drive the bandwagon. #hope


— Melissa Penney (@melissa_penney) March 6, 2015

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top social media tip: don't use a meme to talk about domestic violence http://t.co/0JmTKp9Fno


— Rossalyn Warren (@RossalynWarren) March 6, 2015

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@SalvationArmySA @KrisPoB let's not forget male victims.


— James MacKeddie (@jimmymacke) March 6, 2015

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@CTVNews @SalvationArmySA "&THE DOMESTIC NAZI TOO!" But it's a 2-way-STREET..."If a woman doesn't want 2 b hit, don't HIT in the 1st place."


— Queen of ISrael (@khanobama) March 6, 2015

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Share your thoughts on the ad in the comments below.

[via Telegraph]

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