The Girl Guides of Canada are shelving their wholesome image in a surprising recruitment campaign, in favour of provocative photographs of young women.

In one ad, a fictitious popstar named Candi promotes her songs Naughty Girl and Taste Me Again. At the bottom of the ad, a girl guide points her finger in judgment to emphasize the tagline: "Why Girls need Guides."

The Girl Guides are hoping to boost their numbers with the new ad campaign.
(CBC)

Girl Guide officials defend the suggestive advertisements, arguing that the campaign has a relevant message to young girls and parents today. They say they're using the negative ads to demonstrate that their organization offers an alternative to negative social and media messages.

"Parents see what's happening in today's world," said Myrtle Corkum, chief commissioner for the Girl Guides of Canada. "They know that the girls are being bombarded with messages and they know that there's an alternative to that."

The Girl Guides spent about $500,000 on the advertising campaign, which will roll out ads online and in major Canadian magazines, commuter dailies. The summer campaign will also feature posters on shopping carts and in fitness centres.

"The idea behind this campaign is just to turn the mirror back on society and say: 'If this is what your daughter is being exposed to on a daily basis, wouldn't it make sense to put her into Girl Guides?'" said Angus Tucker, creative director of John St. Advertising.

A big gamble

However, some experts say the ads are a substantial gamble.

"The risk to this strategy is in being in your face — in what really is essentially a form of shock advertising — you end up possibly alienating that foundation that you've always relied on in terms of your membership base," said Eileen Saunders, a professor at Carleton University's school of journalism and communication in Ottawa.

The Girl Guides of Canada, whose ranks currently include about 108,000 girls and 26,000 adults, have suffered a steady decline in membership over the past 20 years.