OAA Apologise for "Career Women Make Bad Mothers" Campaign

[OAA]

The OAA are running a campaign to demonstrate the power of outdoor advertising to drive people online. This is being done in conjunction with a new website called ?Britainthinks.com? which encourages debate amongst the people of Britain.

We regret any misunderstanding that led to feelings of offence on the part of members of the Mumsnet community.

The intention of the website is to generate debate by posing questions that are deemed to be socially relevant by members of society.

We did not intend to cause any offence and we would stress that the questions posed were not the opinions of the OAA or any of its members.

Three posters were designed to initiate the debate using sport, life and politics and these are supported by dozens of other questions on the website itself.

Regrettably the question relating to ?career women? has caused offence and the OAA unreservedly apologises to anyone who has been offended. This was not our intention and, to ensure that this misunderstanding does not persist, instructions have been given to remove this poster.

Subject to the vagaries of the weather, all copy will be removed as soon as possible. The sites currently carrying this poster will be either blanked-out or carry one of the other designs. The poster will also be removed from the ?Britainthinks.com? website. All Digital posters have already been removed.

@ feed the birds

Whatever the outcome I think we should use our contacts at Campaign anyway.

Sorry. DH has just overtaken me at Scrabble. War is breaking out in the BIWI household. Back shortly ...

Oh God I am truly going round the bend.

1. first thoughts mumsnet should take the poster space as free advertising by way of thank you for providing a platform from which to get those ads removed.

2. second thoughts when mumsnet didn't appear to want to do business with beta charity.

3. third thought was that we shouldn't salvage a failed campaign for them and therefore should pass it to charity

4. fourth - when Beta said they didn't want to do the charity thing my inclination is to reiterate that request then walk away.

Could we say.

Women wanted to give this space to charity but the admen said no.

I was entertained to read SorryBeta's earlier post - they clearly now think they call the tune - you have to write a slogan, you have to get back to us by 9am tomorrow, etc!

I think I'll post my letter on another separate thread, as discussed, because it will be interesting to see what SorryBeta do next in response to that - will they ring round the charities we've suggested, with the donated space, or will they decline to do this (and do what they already seem to be hinting they'll do, namely put up a replacement poster with an alternative slogan of their choosing)?

Re the question, should Beta choose the charity from those listed on this thread? In practice, it won't really be Beta choosing the charity, it will be the charity choosing Beta ie the charity would have to agree to work with Beta once they'd offered them the opportunity. (I personally wouldn't be concerned about Beta using it as an opportunity to pitch - they could do that anytime, anyway and good luck to 'em.)

I'm a bit busy tomorrow until mid-afternoon (career woman and all that ) but will look back after that to see where things have got to.

But the Beta question is the lesser of two evils of course, the bigger issue being, as some have pointed out, that many of the traditional billboard-style posters are still up.

My DS filled at least 5 nappies today [shock - this may be a thread for another topic, do all babies poo this much?] - that would be one nappy for each of the OAA's member firms, who're not precisely overworking themselves to remove the offending posters. Who knows, I might stir myself to look up their phone numbers shortly. (Be very afraid poster firms .)

Wow. MrsBaldwin comes along and suddenly this post magically accepts more posts!

I was in awe of you. Now I truly think you are fabulous.

I think, for all the reasons you have outlined, that we should really take a back seat now and see what (Beta) do next. Let's face it, there's more than enough input here from all the various posts on this thread.

And just to reassure you all, I stuffed DH in Scrabble in the end.

Please do that MrsB. Both of the things you suggest.

I have seen three poster boards today including one which is NEW since the beginning of last week. I'll have to pass it tomorrow on the commute to work, both ways.

I am still so livid that I can't see straight about engaging with them, charidee or no charidee. It will be spun either way as a success for them in "engaging the community". We won't come out of it looking good, mark my words.

I am still so wound up about this.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

God I've missed all of this, but was interested to see that Beta are also responsible for the Jamie/Louise Redknapp Thomas Cook ad

i'M SO ANNOYED THAT THERE ARE NONE NEAR ME

Domesticslattern - just to make you feel better, GoogleNews is now citing 109 media reports, blogs and citations re the ads, up from 4 a couple of days ago.

okay, i'm sold.

sexism is bad for business.

ppplllllleaaaase can they give the grand to a rough sleepers initiative, though? it's so coooold.

OK

or the birds ... ?

But DS, don't you think it will be spun that way even if we walk away now? I think it will.

Unless the slogan itself declares that (beta) is not an agency which can take the nation's pulse and/or move in the brave new world of social media.

Then
EITHER: (beta) looks silly when trying to spin this story as engagement, and we get sexism out there

OR: they decide that it would make them look sooo foolish that they refuse to run it. That would be fun . And interesting and newsworthy. And would definitely get sexism out there as an issue.

So, "Women wanted to give this space to charity but the admen said no" then?

Agree with Mrs B that if the old ads are not coming down then it's time to get on with the dirty nappy protest.

And yes to Crazycat and Campaign.

This is fun isn't it?

I'm absolutely with aitch's post:
"i agree, crazycatlady. also it's just a bit...cringey. 'look at these daft mums, of course they didn't understand the campaign in the first place but they wouldn't stop NAGGING, so we just said soooooorrrrrrreeee and got them to do our work for us, and then the silly wee lassies all went off with a nice tickly feeling in their panties. all hail adman supreme Garry Lace' etc. "

The only way to stop them spinning is exactly as they choose is to say fuck off fuck off fuck off. And anyway, what on earth counts as giving them a slogan? At some point in this endless discussion two or three people say 'Ok, let's go with the slogan "Wallander should have a less jsunty ringtone for the inevitably soul-rendering call he takes." Those against are too tired to say 'no.' How does that count as a decision?
Effectively they will make the choice by interpreting this discussion to suit them. If we let them. I'd disappear the thread to stop them using it.

jsunty jaunty

Wallender ringtone is central

If we turn our backs, if we don't take control, they will spin it.

Only solution is to take control, and say "We accept, and this is the slogan we insist upon: Sexism is bad for business".

Then they run it but can't effectively spin the story.

Or they refuse, and can't effectively spin the story.

Win/win.

oh have killed important thread. sorry.

oh no, but then i went and changed my mind...

i do want to tell them to fuck off, because it's pretty clear from the amount of posters still up that they aren't taking them down at all. but i don't think in a month of sunday's they'd go with 'sexism is bad for business' so it's kind of a fuck off anyway.

(btw WAIT until you see new gordon ramsay show, ep 3, he is SO RUDE and UNGRACIOUS and SWEARY you will all want to kick his head in). did anyone read matthew 'wimp' fort giving him a doing in the guardian last week?)

They will spin it anyway. Options for me are

(1) Leave the thread up, with fuck of beta said numberless times

or

(2) Delete the thread. The thread is surely a violation of the requirement to use the media and non-members topic for requests of this sort, so ought to go.

And again, what counts as giving them a slogan. Half a dozen of you can't do that. On what authority?????