On Monday 4th January the Outdoor Advertising Association (OAA), a trade body representing firms who sell outdoor ad space, launched a campaign to promote the power of outdoor advertising.
The OAA wanted to prove that outdoors advertising can attract consumers to specific online locations. They thought that if they could demonstrate the link between seeing a billboard and making a purchase online they might sell more outdoors ad space.
The OAA hired a London-based ad agency Campbell Lace Beta (Beta), fronted by a well-known adman Garry Lace, to help them run their campaign.
Beta suggested a campaign that would ?get people talking?. They devised a series of ?provocative? statements to be pasted in large print on billboard sites. In smaller print consumers were encouraged to log on to to a website ?BritainThinks?, set up by Beta for the purpose of counting numbers of people who see an ad and follow it up online. The OAA agreed this campaign strategy.
Just prior to the ads going up Beta briefed the press (the adland trade press and media correspondents of the national press) about its campaign intentions.
In the event one of the ?provocative? statements ? ?career women make bad mothers? - proved particularly provocative to many Mumsnetters, who expressed their annoyance and campaigned to have the posters removed.
As well as discussing the ads on Mumsnet they:
*emailed and called the OAA to express their disappointment
*emailed complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority
*emailed Directors of Communications (responsible for signing off outdoor ad spend) and chief executives at UK firms who spend a lot of money advertising outdoors
*emailed other clients of Beta
On Wednesday 6th January (16.15) the OAA issued an ?unreserved apology? on Mumsnet, saying they would remove the ?career woman ?? ads as soon as possible from their sites. Click here to see the full text:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/in_the_news/888789-OAA-Apologise-for-quot-Career-Women-Make-Bad-Mothers-quot
Some Mumsnetters subsequently contacted the OAA to commend their decision.
Beta spoke to Media Guardian at around the same time, citing a ?misunderstanding with an important mother?s forum?:
www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jan/06/outdoor-advertising-career-women-billboards
Later on Wednesday Mumsnet received communications from Beta?s Garry Lace and his lawyers. Lace?s communication said:
"I will now engage in a process to ensure ? that we are compensated for the hurt, corporate loss and reputational damage that we have suffered as a result of your inability to moderate your medium properly."
Mumsnet has reminded contributors to follow the rules of the forum when making posts on this topic.
Beta?s lawyers have also asked for personal contact details for a number of contributors to the site ? LadyBlaBlah, Harriedandflustered, MrsBaldwin, Overmydeadbody, Southeastastra. HerBeatitude, FunnyLittleFrog, Dittany, FlightAttendant, MrsChemist, Paulaplumpbottom, SydneyScarborough, Imisssleeping, Whomovedmychocolate, Thumper76. Data protection laws have prevented Mumsnet from supplying these.
The debate has sparked a good deal of interest online both in the UK (although mostly not, it appears, on the BritainThinks website) and overseas.