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Salvation Army uses #TheDress to fight violence against women

"Why is it so hard to see black and blue?" asks the ad, which was posted to Twitter Friday.

By Ben Hooper
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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, March 6 (UPI) -- The South African wing of the Salvation Army is seeking to harness the power of social media by using #TheDress in an anti-violence against women campaign.

The official Salvation Army SA Twitter account posted a picture Friday morning of a bruised and battered model wearing a version of the infamous garment altered to appear gold and white -- the colors some saw in the viral photo of the black and blue dress.

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"Why is it so hard to see black and blue?" the image reads.

"The only illusion is if you think it was her choice," it says. "One in six women are victims of abuse. Stop abuse against women."

South African creative agency Ireland/Davenport said the ad was given to the Salvation Army free of charge and was created in less than 24 hours.

"We wanted to take advantage of the hype of the meme to spread awareness for something important," Ireland/Davenport creative director Wihan Meerhloz told ABC News. "Our creative team brainstormed ways to send a greater message about overlooked abuse against women using the dress."

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"We thought of the idea, produced it and offered it completely free to the Salvation Army in less than 24 hours," he said. "We hope it takes off on the Internet like the original dress did."

Some Twitter users questioned the wisdom of using the meme to promote a serious cause, but the overall response on the microblogging site was overwhelmingly positive.

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