If you were online at any stage between Thursday and Sunday of last week, you probably saw that everyone in the world was talking about 'The Dress'. 

We can't explain its popularity either, but in case you missed it, it was basically an optical illusion that meant that some people saw 'The Dress' as black and blue, while others saw it as white and gold. 

It was a sensation that managed to generate around 11 million tweets in the space of about 24 hours, and using that image, the South African branch of The Salvation Army has made a powerful new ad to raise awareness around the problem of domestic violence.

The ad features a model who is shown to be covered in bruises, wearing a white and gold dress, with the tagline "Why is it so hard to see black and blue?", along with a logo for Carehaven, a home for abused women. 

The ad has been receiving a lot of praise online, with most people agreeing that it's a powerful image and taps into the recent viral trend well, using it to get people to think and talk about a very serious issue. So, some good has come of the inexplicable craze that swept the planet last week...

Via BuzzFeed