Not sexy, but important: Save The Children ad shows models trying to make poverty sexy

Almost 800 mothers and 18,000 young children die each day, mostly from preventable causes

One of the models in the "sexy commercial" that actually seeks to raise awareness of humanitarian disasters around the world (Save the Children USA)

You don't need to be a grizzled advertising executive with a lifetime in the industry to know that sex sells.

But what if the subject you're attempting to bring to people's attention isn't sexy?

How do raise awareness then?

A startling new advert from Save The Children has set out to address this very issue, making the point that though child poverty isn't sexy it's still an extremely important issue that deserves our attention.

The advert, which was commissioned by the charity, whose 'Most Shocking Second a Day Video' , recently went viral and had more than 30 million views on YouTube, features a group of attractive models who were brought into the studio for an 'intimate' shoot for what they were told is a very sexy brand.

The models were asked to read a number of strikingly vacuous, statements, questions and product nonsense including "what are your deepest desires?", "lust is my mistress" and "what is sexy?"

It's then that things become odd.

The models are shown a cue card saying: "Almost 800 mothers and 18,000 young children die each day, mostly from preventable causes."

They are told to make the statement sexy; some continue to flirt with the camera and attempt to maintain unsuccessfully their seductive tone.

One model says: "This is not a sexy statement. I feel bad." Another asks, "you want me to say that sexy?" The director then instructs the squirming models to make it "sexier".

The director finally admits to the models that there is nothing they could do to make the issue sexy.

The screen fades to black before a title card informs viewers that 75 per cent of people living and dying in areas affected by armed conflict and natural disasters are women and children.

The models have the last word speaking directly to camera and saying that though the issue is not sexy it deserves our attention.

The advert, which has been screened in time for mothers' day, which in the US is celebrated on the second Sunday in May, coincides with Save The Children's 15th annual issue of State of the World's Mothers (#SOWM) report, which among other things identifies the best and worst places in the world to be a mother.

"Beyond the Mother's Day flowers and the brunches for the moms in our own lives, we want people to do something for mothers who are facing extreme challenges every day," Carolyn Miles, Save the Children president said.

"That's why we set out to create a video that will not only grab people's attention, but also get them to act. We know that talking about mothers and babies struggling to survive during war and disaster isn't sexy. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be doing something about it."