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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To find that Oxfam advert really annoying?

42 replies

Nanny0gg · 01/01/2013 15:49

I know what she says is right, but it really irritates me.
I don't know if it's the content or the number of times it's shown, but it's not making me want to reach for my purse.

AIBU? How else can they attract money?

OP posts:

SledYuleCated · 01/01/2013 18:46

Which one?

PeggyCarter · 01/01/2013 18:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

GlitterySkulls · 01/01/2013 18:52

is that the one with the twin babies?

hiddenhome · 01/01/2013 19:05

I'm a sucker for these ads. So far I've signed up for small monthly amounts to the wspca, save the children and something to do with donkeys/working animals

CloudsAndTrees · 01/01/2013 19:09

YANBU. I don't like the way it implies that if you donate, you might get a random phonecall inviting you to a developing country just so you can see where your money is going.

NUFC69 · 01/01/2013 19:09

I don't like the advert either - my reaction is "who has paid for this woman to go to Africa" and "I don't want to spend my money on adverts".

kneesofnorks · 01/01/2013 19:14

Unfortunately I know the woman - she entered a competition to go there, Oxfam paid for it and to be honest she's not a particularly nice person!!

SentimentalKat · 01/01/2013 19:27

All charity ads have been annoying the heck out of me this Christmas! All the emotional blackmailing and the dcs going on about why mummy doesn't want to save snow leopards or dying children. Argh!

CailinDana · 01/01/2013 19:49

What bugs me is that the mother of the twins just gazes silently into the camera while the smug British woman speaks. It's so patronising and humiliating somehow - I would be mortified if someone from another country brought a camera crew into my house and pointed out all the ways I struggle with my children. I'd much rather put my own story across if I was in need of help. Plus there's no detail at all on the woman - where is her family, her partner, does anyone else live in her village? She's just a one-dimensional poster woman for poverty.

Plus why why why are those tiny twins being fed flour and water when a clearly affluent woman and her tv crew could easily have brought a year's supply of formula with them? Why not show her helping, having a meal with the family, having a chat with the woman, rather than just sitting there like some judgemental health visitor? It's all so badly done it really annoys me.

MrsReiver · 01/01/2013 20:13

Oh I'm so glad I'm not the only person who hates that ad too, it just really rubs me up the wrong way,.

timidviper · 01/01/2013 20:19

When DH and I had just left uni and were in our first jobs we knew somebody our own age, similarly qualified, who worked for Oxfam and earned well more than the rest of us. I know charities have to pay staff but her tales from the office used to wind me up no end and, irrational though that is, I have never donated to Oxfam since.

DesperatelySeekingSedatives · 01/01/2013 20:21

I hate this advert. I couldn't put my finger on why until now. It's the woman in it. She's smug in the extreme and I don't like the idea that a charity that constantly begs for money then spends the money on sending some smug irritating random over to a very poor country, to do what? Annoy a harrassed mother while she struggles in some very tough circumstances.

Sparklingbrook · 01/01/2013 20:24

I wanted to start this exact same thread but I was too scared.

The advert is very long and must have cost a fortune, and the woman's voice is very annoying.

Varya · 01/01/2013 20:25

I support Oxfam thru monthly payments. but I also find this advert a bit trying as I am doing what I can for Oxfam already. Same with water aid. Not much spare no in our wallets thanks to various .snouts in trough. higher up the food chain.

PeggyCarter · 01/01/2013 20:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Birdsgottafly · 01/01/2013 20:30

I would be mortified if someone from another country brought a camera crew into my house and pointed out all the ways I struggle with my children. I'd much rather put my own story across if I was in need of help.

How? exactly and i think that you wouldjust be happy that your story is out there and you will get help, think Manslow's "Hierachy of Needs".

Not to pick on you, that is,but none of us sat typing on the internet after having enough to eat (if not over indulging) this Christmas can comment on how any of those in famine think.

Original poster

Nanny0gg · 01/01/2013 21:34

But how much has it cost to have those adverts shown on satellite tv time and time again during the day?
Must be a fortune.

And call me niaive (or stupid), but if the mother isn't producing enough milk, (so therefore 'some') isn't there a better way of improving her diet so she does produce enough rather than send formula for the babies? I don't know, I'm just wondering.

OP posts:

CailinDana · 01/01/2013 21:40

I meant the woman herself could have spoken Birds - I presume she's not mute.

TeWisBeenNargledByTheMistletoe · 01/01/2013 21:48

I thought that too Nanny, I'm no bf obsessive but if there are issues with unclean water improving her milk (if at all possible!) is surely much safer than giving formula with associated infection risks?

bruffin · 01/01/2013 21:53

I hate the advert as well. Adverts dont normally bother me, but this one does.
I used to work for a charity and have no issue with the cost, as the money will have probably been raised specifically for the advert or time donated.
But i do think the whole tone of going on a big adventure at the beginning is wrong and she is very annoying

lurcherlover · 01/01/2013 21:57

I hate the statement that with Oxfam's help the twins are getting "proper milk". They don't say explicitly that it's formula, but if it's breastmilk why not say so? I am not anti-ff at all in the developed world, but the fact is that in a third-world country it is impossible to ff babies safely. That mother needed practical help with increasing her supply, or the services of a wet nurse. That advert doesn't show the root causes of the twins' problems being addressed and it doesn't help western ignorance about issues with formula in the third world. The cynic in me wonders if Oxfam had a "donation" from Nestlé somewhere along the lines...

bruffin · 01/01/2013 22:07

This is an email from oxfam from another site in response to the bf aspect

Thank you for your e-mail and your comments and suggestions regarding the recent advertisement in our See For Yourself campaign. I am very sorry for any upset this may have caused you, it really was not our intention. Your comments are greatly appreciated and they have been passed on to the manager of this campaign to assess and take into consideration. The core message of the See For Yourself campaign is transparency and to show Oxfam supporter Jodie's personal, firsthand experience of an Oxfam project. Esther, the mother featured in the advert, personally told Jodie that she did not have enough milk to breastfeed her twins because she doesn?t have enough to eat. Oxfam recognises that it is physically possible to breastfeed despite being underweight. However, in Esther?s case, to breastfeed her twins would take several hours each day and night. The reality of Esther's life is that she must collect water, cook, clean, farm and care for other members of the family which leaves her with insufficient time to feed the twins regularly enough. As breast milk supply is affected by demand, irregular feeding could result in Esther having insufficient breast milk to feed the twins. Oxfam recognises that breast milk provides everything an infant needs up until six months, including nutrition, hydration and support to the immune system. For this reason - among others - Oxfam will always encourage breastfeeding and support mothers to do this where possible. One way we do this is by helping to provide clean water and sanitation for mothers, as well as improved access to food and income sources. This is the main focus of the work we are doing on the project that Jodie visited. One benefit of these changes is that mothers will have more time to breastfeed and better access to safe and nutritious food and water for themselves. Once again thank you for your comments and feedback, if you would like to discuss this further please do call us on 0300 200 1300 or e-email us by reply we would be happy to hear from you.

borninastorm · 01/01/2013 22:16

I hate that advert too.

But do you know what I hate most about charities - the unbelievably high wages some of them pay their directors and other high up staff.

Read the Sunday Times appointments section and they're offering five figure salaries. Really?! Where does the money come from to pay these wages?

My Dbro says its cos they need the best to run their charities so they have to pay the best wages.

Hmmmm...

Pickles101 · 01/01/2013 22:17

YANBU, it's so fucking patronising.

lurcherlover · 01/01/2013 22:20

bruffin - I wish they'd clarify the ad then. Because as it stands it's very misleading - the mother gets clean water, and hey presto, the babies get "proper" milk. I think most people would assume that means formula. Why don't they just say "because mum now doesn't spend hours a day travelling to fetch water, she is able to properly bf her twins" or something similar?

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