‘Angry commuters blast sexist advert.’ It’s becoming almost a weekly occurrence as yet another company forgets what decade we’re in and puts out an advert that belongs more appropriately on an episode of On The Buses than in public in 2015.

This week’s target is this effort from travel money firm WeSwap.

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Whether it’s sexist isn’t up for debate: of course it is. I’m also not going to debate whether it’s offensive as a result – because being offended is a totally subjective state and I fully respect people’s right to be offended at whatever they choose.

Of course, the main thing to point out here that anybody who feels offended and then tweets a picture of the advert is only adding to the attention it receives. So if you’re really offended at something, the best thing is usually just to ignore it, or complain quietly to the ASA.

As it happens, the main aspect of the advert that offended me was simply how terrible it is. Utterly shoddy, from top to bottom. The creative process required to get this designed and signed off is mind-boggling: not just that they chose to ignore (or embrace…) the ridiculous sexism, but also that they let the work placement lad design the thing.

And then it got signed off. It’s staggering.

In fact, it’s so bad, I am now convinced it was done that way on purpose. Ad agencies everywhere must be cottoning on to the fact that the baying masses on social media are only too keen to share anything that looks a bit sexist. The more people you can offend, the more coverage you get.

I hadn’t heard of WeSwap this morning; now I’ve written a blog post about it. I also know that it’s a company that does travel money. Am I principled enough to boycott them based on this advert? Well, probably depends on their exchange rates, if I’m entirely honest.

Then, by contrast, look at all the benign, non-sexist adverts all over the country that aren’t being shared by thousands of people. Then ask yourself who’s winning…
Podium specialises in brand awareness, digital marketing, SEO and PR. We have never knowingly offended anybody on purpose.

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