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.

it's for them, it's not for us!

I'm with SnowWorm on this. Don't do it.

No Swedes no! What good would come of a slogan on a digital billboard or whatever? It would have to be a hefty social benefit to outweigh the seediness of throwing MN's lot in with this failed campaign. Will society be changed by eight or nine MN-crafted words? Will it heck as like. Will Beta be less deeply in the shit? Yes.

How about it they put the Mumsnet logo on in equal size?

Oh can't we even have "(Beta) make sexist ads" ?

(NB that was a provocative statement intended to spark debate)

No I suppose not

I can't understand all the blardy paragraphs with uncessary parentheses. It sounds like Stephen Hawkins is in my head when I read it

Don't think so Beta. We know you're desperate to regain control of your messages and turn the campaign around but I doubt many MNers will want to work with you now, or in the future. I certainly don't. How cheeky .

Perhaps better 'making up for it' would include Beta making sure its own working practices are up to scratch:

• a gender/parenting audit of all its staff. Over the last 5 years, how many promotions and pay rises have been made to men and women? Further broken down by parenting status and age of youngest child?

• insisting on a 45 hour working week maximum for all employees, with paid overtime on a voluntary basis, and a clear statement that 'presenteeism' will not impact upon promotability

• family-friendly work policies, supported and demonstrated by senior management, to include: the offer of work from home for portions of the week; the offer of job-sharing and part-time work at ALL levels of seniority, with similar commitment to work out promotion opportunities

• a commitment to get an outside agency to survey women employees confidentially to assess and act upon levels of casual sexism in the office and in the associated hospitality etc..

I'm sure we could come up with a few more...

Swedes, collaberating with these guys in any way after the widespread offence they have caused really doesn't appeal. At all. Ever.

And indeed the OOA could do the same...

I forgot to add a gender equality statement available for all staff.

And for my equally huge professional fee, I'd be delighted to research the campaign properly for you.

Well maybe there would be good to come from it. I don't think we would be throwing our lot in with them at all. We would be providing them with a line of copy. Something that just might be of social benefit.

Sometimes you have to accept that people make mistakes and move on. We are where we are. We can't change that unfortunate slogan now.

Bloody hell. All those buses.

LOL at 'eyewateringly expensive' MadameDeFarge. And the suggestion of a £1.25m fee to MN. Now that would come in handy in advance of the next (threatened) libel action.

Your apology is appreciated. However, the 'Mumsnet dreams up poster campaign' idea is probably the one you should have come up with in the first place.

The other ad agencies and PR firms who have been keeping an eye on this thread may want to note Beta's suggestion though, for their own future, well-planned and executed campaigns.

SydneyScarborough - But also remember the saying "Don't cut your nose off to spite your face" and "don't shoot yourself in the foot".

Sometimes you have to just think about what you want to get out of a situation.

Sydney you are right. This is absolutely about them trying to save face. We're not that silly Garry.

YOU, Garry, are the one being paid to run this campaign so YOU come up with a catchy piece of copy. We don't want anything to do with it.

Joint new site could be called 'Alpha Mummies and Beta Admen: By Parents for the Advertising Industry'

Brilliant, SnowWorm. We have our slogan.

Fab!

I reckon the best thing they could do is do a campaign saying ads are mostly bollox...

that'll be££squillions for original concept, please...

I'm not suggesting we take them up on the offer of the site. But the posters. Arghhhh Have you any idea how much such a campaign would cost?

There are so many good things that we could say. What a waste.

I do sympathise Swedes, especially with all the crap posters around London with crying women being raped by unlicenced cab drivers