Previous |
Next Crafting a Strategy for Social Media, and More: Tuesday's Roundup |
October 6, 2009, 11:40 AM ET
Prostate Cancer Charity's Campaign Criticized
An ad campaign to get more men to be tested for prostate cancer has thrown its celebrity spokesman “under the bus,” according to one blog writer.
The campaign, which was paid for by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline and promotes the work of the Prostate Cancer Foundation and other charities, features the tennis star John McEnroe.
On its Web site and in other material, the campaign states that Glaxo paid for and helped develop the marketing effort and that it paid Mr. McEnroe for his involvement.
Paul Robert Jones, a marketing consultant in Salt Lake City, questions the move.
He doesn’t object to Mr. McEnroe being compensated, though he says it’d be preferable if the athlete volunteered, and he says he supports transparency in cause-marketing. But the campaign should not have included the pay statement in its ads.
“Putting that disclosure at the bottom of the ad, to me, disrespects John McEnroe,” Mr. Jones writes on his blog. “Think about it this way: Suppose you work for a charity. That is, you provide some professional service and in return you receive pay from the charity. How would you feel if the cause issued periodic ads that featured your photo with the disclosure you got paid for your work for the cause?”
He says the campaign didn’t have to be so upfront about it. Instead, it could have mentioned the ad in press releases and in frequently asked questions online, and it could have told reporters if they asked.
What do you think? Was the decision to tell people Mr. McEnroe was paid a good one or bad?
Add Your Comment
Commenting is closed.