Hot issue - does the Connexions cinema ad engage young people?

YES Zainab Rawat (16)It was good but a bit patronising. Are they trying to say we dont listen? The only thing that got me were those circles at the end. I didnt like them. But it was good because it did get the message across: are you tired of listening, do you want someone to listen to you? Asking Had enough of listening? suggests you are going to stop listening after youve found Connexions. Why didnt they say: Want to have someone listen to you?Our school has got a Connexions personal adviser. She really listens to you. Shes willing to find things out and do things. But I did have a bad experience with Connexions. I emailed them about two months ago and I never got a reply. Would you go to someone youd never met before and start talking about your relationship or something? You might do if you were confident enough, but I wouldnt.YES Chris Bates (15)I thought it was good. But it makes us look like we never listen and makes young people look inferior to adults. It told us if we went to Connexions they would listen to us. Do I believe that? Possibly. I think they would listen to us to start with.I dont know anyone who has used Connexions. But I think the advert would make them more willing to go. With adults its normally their word that goes. You couldnt really see the words of the issues at the end. Especially if you only see it once at the cinema when you are not listening because you are talking to your friends. And the phone number was only on for about a second. I dont think the phone number is so important though. Surely youd only go onto the web site. You might go and talk to a stranger if you were in a situation where you didnt want to tell your friends about something. Ill probably go to Connexions maybe next year for careers advice. NO Jackie Hall, development worker, Voice of Young People Unit, Leicester City CouncilMy gut reaction to the ad is that I do think it is a bit of a waste of money. Goodness knows how much it cost. All the adults were white, bar one, and he was an African-Caribbean man blowing a whistle. In a multi-cultural city like Leicester, how are young people going to relate to it? I also felt it was so vague. If you had no idea about what Connexions was prior to seeing that advert, you would be none the wiser afterwards. There is this vague group of adults somewhere who are apparently going to listen to me if I have got a problem or issue. I think they need to think a lot more. Did they speak to young people, or to the youth service? If they did, thats very worrying.It feels indicative of the way the Connexions service has been steamrollered into. In theory Connexions is a brilliant idea. But it feels like so much is being done on the hoof.YES Anne Weinstock, chief executive, Connexions Cinema advertising is a great way to let young people know directly about Connexions. Using cinema enabled us to target the advertising in areas where there is a full Connexions service. Connexions offers young people a professional, confidential service through advisers that are there to listen and offer information and guidance. The cinema adverts were therefore created using the theme of listening. Many young people feel nobody listens to or understands them. We wanted to convey the message that Connexions will listen and thats exactly what the advertising did. It has raised the profile of the service in a format that had a high impact on viewers.In April, Connexions goes live across the country and will be supported by a national campaign. We would be delighted to hear from young people who have ideas on how it should be done. You can get in touch via our web site: www.connexions.gov.uk.