When social media set you free
An offensive ad was pulled from the media thanks to people’s voice on social media.
In the global era we all have a voice and we can make it count. Through social media we give opinions, we share, we debate, but we also organize ourselves and act according to our values.
In recent years we have seen how a united society can put its government in check, promote marches and protests, condemn and express its thinking in complete freedom: Los Indignados in Spain or a whole nation in Egypt are some of the strongest examples we can cite.
Today, we witnessed how an offensive ad was pulled from the media thanks to the interaction and the voice of people on social media. We are talking about the particular case of the Argentine beer Schneider with its campaign “Perdón” which links men’s “immaturity” to “common” treatment and offensive attitudes toward women (created by the agency Ogilvy Argentina underthe General CreativeDirection of Javier Mentasti and Maximiliano Maddalena).
“#Perdón for seeking a rub on the bondi” was the print piece that unleashed the wave of complaints and condemnation against a statement classed as harassment (“roce” means “apoyar”, and apoyar is a criminal offence), as well as endorsing other kinds of actions such as those that appear in the TV spots: “Taking a no for a yes” or “Dirty catcalls”, among others.
The complaint began with the creation of a Fan Page on Tuesday, March 19: “Condemnation of the Schneider beer out of home campaign”. Through this platform they made the following complaint: “While gender violence grows in the country, irresponsible advertisers normalize sexist situations. Sexism kills. Do not be an accomplice”.
The initiative began to circulate and gather supporters, and in just 3 days it got the support of more than 3,500 people, its coverage in various media and the attention of the Observatory ofDiscrimination in Radio and Television, made up of the National Council of Women,the Federal Authority of Audiovisual Communication Services (AFSCA) and the National Institute against Discrimination (INADI).
Faced with such a situation the Observatory’s representatives summoned those responsible for the advertising to explain to them that their actions violate the Media Law and Law26,485 on comprehensive protection against gender violence. In response the firm decided to “levantar” the campaign and to apologize through the following press release:
“We have read all the messages sent and we sincerely apologize to all those who have been affected in one way or another by the contents of Schneider’s #Perdón campaign. The campaign has already been pulled in its entirety from the media. At Ogilvy & Mather Argentina we condemn any kind of violence toward the female gender. The communicational intention of the campaign was always placed on men’s immaturity, apologizing for it.”
In turn, the brand apologized through social media:
An example of action-reaction that we wanted to share, that shows us that our active participation and our voice can indeed be heard and echoed by so many others who feel the same. The Internet, a tool of power within everyone’s reach, a worldwide megaphone that if we use it conscientiously can contribute to the change we so long for in certain aspects of society, is bearing fruit. It is up to us, the users, to make it grow.
It is up to us, advertisers, to measure our messages and not fall into violent and sadly normalized stereotypes, out of the urgent need to sell. And it is not from now: we have noticed it for a long time and we expressed it: we do not feel represented either. It is time to accept that, for a change of values, we can all contribute our grain from where we stand.
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