Sign of the Times

OF COURSE, not all family advertising is warm and fuzzy. When a parent sued the Canadian Hockey Association because his son didn’t win the Most Valuable Player award in his youth hockey league, the CHA broke a PSA campaign that puts the spotlight on parents who take the game a little too seriously.

The “Relax, it’s just a game” campaign broke last month in Canada and parts of the U.S. on TV, radio, online, and in print, featuring humorous spots in which children put the pressure on their parents. In one spot titled “Groceries,” a daughter yells, “Are you going to let her get away with that?” at her mother after another shopper collides with their shopping cart, then beats on the glass of a frozen food display while yelling, “Fight! Fight!” The tagline says, “What if kids pressured us the way we pressured them?” Palmer Jarvis DDB, Toronto, handles.