Teacher group aims to rise ‘above the clutter’
The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) wanted to ensure that its ads stood out in a busy period for political advertising, but some of its 76,000 members are giving an F to a new teaser campaign.
Created by Toronto agency Smith Roberts, which beat out several undisclosed agencies for the ETFO assignment earlier this year, the “Vote Against Kids” campaign is comprised of four 15-second ads that parody political attack ads. The ads debuted Aug. 29 and are running across the province on CTV, City, Global and CBC Television, as well as on a dedicated YouTube page.
In “Pink,” a young girl is shown refusing to wear a dress because it’s not pink. The spot then switches to a black and white image, along with a sinister voiceover that says “She will only wear pink. Is this the kind of inflexible thinking we want? On Oct. 6, vote against kids.”
Another spot shows a young boy sitting at a table erasing his homework, while the voiceover states “Just yesterday, he got that same eraser stuck up his nose. Is that the kind of leadership this province wants for its future?”
Smith Roberts president Malcolm Roberts said that the spots are part of a broader campaign, with a series of reveal ads outlining the ETFO’s true objective set to debut Sept. 14. The reveal, which will be comprised of TV, online radio, print and social media, will feature what Roberts described as “positive messaging” and drive to a dedicated microsite.
In the meantime, however, ETFO has incurred the wrath of both its members and the public. One poster on ETFO’s YouTube page wrote “As an elementary teacher in Ontario, I am totally embarrassed by these ads. What a disgusting waste of my membership dues! Shame on the creators and promoters,” while another wrote “Forget the issues. I will now vote for whomever ETFO is opposing. Your ads are disgusting, and you should be ashamed.”
But a spokesperson with ETFO in Toronto said Tuesday that the organization anticipated the negative reaction. “We knew that the ads were going to be very noticeable and that they were going get people thinking,” said the spokesperson. “It’s very difficult to rise above the clutter of advertising during an election period, so we started with a campaign that’s designed to get people talking and get them intrigued.”
Roberts, too, defended the ads as a way to get people’s attention amid a glut of political advertising. “It’s a very busy time for political ads, so if we just threw another one into the ring it’s going to get drowned out,” said Roberts. “We wanted something that was really going to stand out and get people’s attention and we wanted to provoke a little bit and get people talking.
“In order to get attention you’ve got to do things that are polarizing,” said Roberts. “If everyone loves it, then it’s wallpaper.”
