Canadian Blood Services’ ad snafu causes Grindr rage

In a traditional print advertising environment, typos and misprints occasionally occur. But today’s digital advertising environment presents brand new opportunities for blunders, as recently experienced by the Canadian Blood Services.

Users of the gay hookup app Grindr were shocked recently to find that they were being served ads encouraging them to download the GiveBlood app and donate blood to the Canadian Blood Services.

“Put the power to give life in the palm of your hand,” said the ad.

What it didn’t mention, however, is that Health Canada has implemented a ban on accepting blood donations from gay men who have been sexually active within the previous year.

As backlash to the ad grew on social media sites, Canadian Blood Services issued a statement that the ad was placed on Grindr accidentally by its mobile advertising vendor.

“The ad was placed in error as part of a broader digital campaign,” it said. “We took immediate steps to remove the ad as soon as we were made aware of it. We are taking steps to ensure this does not happen again.”

But the backlash has since grown and appeared on mainstream media. Corey Shefman, a Winnipeg human rights lawyer who is himself unable to donate blood because of the ban, told the CBC that despite the ad’s removal, the damage is already done. The gay community has taken notice and the PR nightmare for Canadian Blood Services has begun.

“I think that [Canadian] Blood Services’ decision to take out advertising in an app that’s used almost entirely by gay men, [who] are prohibited from donating blood, is at best insensitive and at worst just another example of Canadian Blood Services’ discriminatory treatment of gay men,” Shefman told the CBC.

“This is a really good reminder to all marketers and advertisers — do your research,” said Rachel Surman, the creative director of Atlas Communications, a Toronto-based digital marketing agency. Surman said that while the incident was most likely caused unintentionally, the damage has been done, and now all parties involved are facing repercussions.

Surman theorized that a third-party marketer compiled ad placements using demographic information targeting young males, which would include gay dating sites like Grindr.

“It just comes down to research. You need to make sure you’re getting their target market, and someone messed up there and didn’t do their research,” she said. “Someone just didn’t look into what Grindr was, and something like this happens, which is awful.”

While the mobile advertising network responsible has not been named by the Canadian Blood Services, Surman said it’s safe to assume the company has lost a client, and there could be more repercussions moving forward.

There’s no telling how much damage this incident will cause the parties involved, but what’s certain is how easily this situation could have been avoided, said Surman.

“Even if it’s a big demographic you’re trying to aim for, don’t just give the list to Google and say you want to advertise to all these sites. Make sure you know exactly what these websites are to avoid any complications,” she said. “Check it, and then check it again, because you don’t want these kinds of mistakes to happen.”