Please can I have your thought on this ad line

[TeeCee]

A friend of mine works in advertising and just rang to say he's doing some work with the DSA.

They are working on a new ad campaign to do with jobs for people with DS.

Only 16% of people with DS are employed and only a pathetic 2% of thos e 16% are actually paid. With the educational opportunities improving all the time and more and more people with DS wanting to work something has to be done and the DSA are launching this campaign.

The poster will be of a young man with DS and his CV and there will be a tag line of:

"Get Down's to Work".

Obvioulsy playing on 'get down to work'.

Would you, as a parent of a child with DS or other SN's, find this offensive or would you take it the way that is intended?

I'm not sure. What do you think?

Hmmm -my child doesn't have DS but I must admit my first reaction was that it could be offensive. Not just because of the use of 'Down's' as a noun ( connecting with your other post!) but also because it implies (to me anyway) that people with DS have to be persuaded to work rather than society not giving them the opportunities. But probably best to see what other mums of children with DS think.

I'm not a parent of a child with Down's Syndrome but I find that intensely offensive.

Puns only work if neither of the meanings are offensive.

Referring to someone with DS as "Down's" is offensive hence the pun doesn't work

Replace Down's with another group word and see how offensive it is as a statement in its own right

I'm an ex-marketeer btw

here try this

"Only 16% of asian people are employed and only a pathetic 2% of thos ie 16% are actually paid

Get Asians to work"

"Only 16% of black people are employed and only a pathetic 2% of thos ie 16% are actually paid

Get Blacks to work"

"Only 16% of white people are employed and only a pathetic 2% of thos ie 16% are actually paid

Get Whites to work"

see?

I don't have a child with DS but my thoughts are similar to Sphil's. It gives the impression that it's the people with DS who are reluctant and that they need convincing to go out and work. Again there's also the issue of referring to people as their SN ratherthan a person with SN.

Then again I suppose as a SAHM I'm probably not the target audience.

x-posted with Twiglett but I agree.

My son is differently abled but does not have DS. My initial reaction was that it was offensive!

Thought so.
Any more reactions?
I'm passing the info back to him so any more comments would be welcome.

Any more comments on this ad line as I'm going to go back to him today with comments.

Would like to think he'll take all the comments on board and not run with it.

bump!

I tend to agree with others, it makes me feel really uncomfortable. It's kind of implying that adults with ds need to be coerced into the work force regardless.

I find it offensive:

1. As you know - big difference between calling a person with down syndrome ( just that) as opposed to a Down's, a down's man etc

1. the implication is that the problem or issue lies with the person who has down syndrome rather than the employers iyswim.

Yes I think it is bad, agree with twiglett about the grouping issue.

Thanks everyone.
I have cut & pasted all of your comments and emailed them to him.
Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Let's hope we can make a difference and the line doesn't go ahead.

I'll let you know.

Terrible.
Shocking use of apostrophe as well.

Message withdrawn

so what is ad company planning to do with their strap line concept?

Good call, TeeCee.

As well as being offensive, it is a really naff clunky pun.

I hate the relentless use of puns in British Advertising / marketing.

As a Mum of dd with downs syndrome, I agree with what's been posted so far. The semantics of it all do matter - I've come across far too many SN workers, my own family members and and fellow parents of children with ds who use such phrases as "a downs child" or, even worse "she's Down's". Actually, she's NOT!!, she's many things including a child with an extra chromosome. From my point of view, her outstanding characteristic is her extreme greediness. When asked her opinion on this matter, DD3, couldn't bring herself to put her mini-milk down and comment.....

urgh, just spotted this, TC - it really makes me cringe. Big Time. And I would feel very upset to see this tagline anywhere - all that hard work put into making our children be seen as children, not a 'Down's', would suffer such a setback.

As well as all that, it makes people with DS sound like lazy gits who need a campaign to get them off their arses or something.

I kinda bombarded hi a bit with my emails, inc one that cut and pasted all your comments.

He was grateful for inpou and in his last email he said 'he got the point'!

Think he knows how we all feel now and i'm sure, i very much hope, it won't be used.