Agency Chief tells Mums to get off Facebook and play with their kids?!

[Cornflakemum]

"Gerry Graf thinks the Internet is getting a little out of hand. So, the longtime TBWA\Chiat\Day and Saatchi & Saatchi creative director, who recently opened his own agency, Barton F. Graf 9000, whipped up the video below called "The Log Off," encouraging moms everywhere to put down the Facebook and play with their kids instead. "

Check out the YouTube video here

Whilst I understand the sentiment, why just MUMS?? ] anger

What about all the Dads on their ipads and blackberrys all weekends?

(Clearly designed to be controversial and drum up support for his new agency, but I bet it will backfire spectacularly!)

Jackstarb, hadn't thought of that one. But VERY good point (so perhaps the idea is a bit more thought out that it first appears).

HerB, that is so true. My DH cannot believe that I can talk to other women about other things beside him.
I really hate men telling me how to be a parent. I even hate it when non parents tell me how to parent, they have no experience so no real knowledge.
Should just bog off.
And they should tell men to get off their Blackberrys too. So much worse.

what a lame-arse campaign. Obvious rip off of the 'career women' shite.

I tried to watch the vid to comment but switched off after 10 seconds. yawn.

i am a feminist but i like men

is this thread for real?

Gerry Graf for a webchat?

Please MNHQ, if we promise him we'll make up the time with our DC afterwards?

I think he has a point and will wait patiently for him to produce the dad version, the nanny version and the teacher version.

I wonder how all his female potential clients, eg: brand managers, company directors etc etc are going to think about giving millions of pounds worth of business to his agency?

I would imagine, not impressed.

How about....

" hey daddy, dear daddy, get home from office at a decent time, I miss you so much dear daddy, your always at the office, from dawn till dusk, it's been sometime since I saw you in the daylight, hey daddy, dear daddy, don't go out for clients drinks, get the early train home and come kick a ball around with me for just half an hour, Daddy dear Daddy, tell your colleagues you babies need you, there's my homework and a spelling test, they will just have to work on the ad campaigns without you, daddy, dear daddy, please come home from work and be with me"

End shot - Daddy being dragged along the floor gripping his Blackberry and desk.........

This advertising idiot has obviously got his meeja glasses on too tight...doesn't take too many brain cells to see what an insulting and mysogynist message they're sending here. Or are they waiting for a big backlash from mums to get the publicity for their campaign?

I'd spend less time emailing and on FB if DH and other male members of my family didn't expect me to be social secretary for everyone and I didn't have to arrange most family and friend get togethers, anyone else in the same boat?

Where does this man (whoever he is) get his information from? Has he got statistics of some sort?

I don't know anyone who is on the internet while the kids are around, especially very little ones. I don't, couldn't really because as soon as they see the computer on they want to go on the sites they like and I am doing some kiddy stuff on the computer with them.

Someone who starts some silly campain to further their own business interest I would rather choose to ignore - wouldn't even get worked up about it.

Silly man, he's forgotten that many of the marketing directors and brand managers he is so desperate to impress are mothers. And that brand and marketing directors of whatever gender or parental status generally don't think insulting their customers is a smart move. Bless.

Soooooooo

One kid at Saturday school
One kid riding his bike with his friends outside
One kid asleep
One kid grown up and moved away, working this morning.

Yeah right, must corral them all and get the sponge paints out for the good of mankind.

Sorry, lasted 5 seconds watching that shit on YouTube. Gerry can try to wrest the laptop from my cold dead hands now.

In the meantime let's start a MN campaign to stop marketing companies pushing products at under 12s or engage in some other socially useful activity online.

Well DS2 is asleep, and DS1 is watching telly

But today he has already had swimming lessons and played transformers all morning, and he has his birthday party at a soft play at 4pm, so I want him to have a break from running about a bit so that he isn't too tired and enjoys his party.

Terrible mother that I am.

BoffinMum - you get the sponges, I'l get the paints. Then we'll throw them at the toss pot who made this terrible video. And video it. And post it on YouTube. And see how it stomps all over his shite.

I spend more time with my 3 DCs than he ever does so I am entitled to a bit of wasting of time of the internet.

I work very hard at playing with the children with being a childminder as well as the normal housework chores that have to be done.

What's daytime tv? Perhaps I might try that sometime too!

I spend a LOT of time on tinterweb. That is because my kids are now teens (or almost) and laugh in my face if I suggest playing with them

I have done my time - 10 years of junk modelling, baking, planting sunflowers, playing hide and seek, and doing craft stuff - all using recipes/ideas/inspiration from the internet...

KNOBBER!

My dh does phone-sitting. He says it is because he is indispensable at work

My DC are out playing in the garden in the rain. They are pretending to be possessed by Tony Hawks and it involves ramps and skateboards.

Like hell am I going out to join them.

Oh I just adore these ad men who come along and tell us we're Doing It Wrong.

I can't work out if I love the really stupid agency name best (which is obviously a Nathan Barley-style joke) or the public declaration that this new agency doesn't get modern advertising? I mean Don Draper is dead folks! Long live Web 2.0!

I'm also wondering if this guy has ever spent any time looking after a small child alone? It is mind-numbing and best done in short bursts.

My boys are out playing with their friends, I am sure they would be delighted if I called them back in so I can engage with them.

If this tosser wasn't so busy bossing women around he would know that a ot of the time children like to do their own thing. They don't actually want their mum's attention every waking our of the day. He is probably a shit dad if he hasn't worked that out.

It appears online travel company Kayak is Graf's only major client. I wonder what Kayak's female VP-brand marketing, Stephanie Retcho, makes of this regressive, sexist effort?

Have just been online selling some of the kids' toy mountain on Ebay to fund a replacement climbing frame as ours is about the give up the ghost through overuse.

"Barton F. Graf 9000" what is he an eton-educated transformer??? Would prefer if he was just honest and did advertising like this .. SexistAds Seriously those are good for a giggle though have a peep!

Superhero, I have a horrid feeling the morning sickness one might be advertising thalidomide. (Well, it's the only anti-morning sickness drug I've ever heard of.)

"i am a feminist but i like men"

I very much doubt that you are a feminist actually. Feminists don't need to anxiously state that they like men. They know that there is no contradiction between being a feminist and liking men.