The people of Twitter are disgruntled again. No, it’s not Katie Hopkins this time. In fact it’s an unlikely villain: the charity Motor Neurone Disease Association. It seems that the public don’t find the charity’s latest campaign touching or inspiring – they find it ‘highly inappropriate’ and even ‘revolting’.
The campaign in question is called Last Summer. It has its own hashtag, natch. And it looks back to a time when we all, decked in our swimming costumes and dressing gowns, took to our gardens and hilariously risked cardiac arrest as part of the ice bucket challenge. The campaign idea is fair enough. But as Brian Whelan, Channel 4’s deputy digital editor, pointed out in his tweet, the execution is somewhat lacking:
The copy seems to imply that Michael’s motor neurone disease diagnosis has something to do with him skipping the ice bucket challenge last year. Which is obviously absurd. And Twitter responded to say as much:
@tjproberts
Last year, I didn’t take a no make-up selfie. Now, I have leprosy.
And my personal favourite:
@xxiainxx
IT’S LIKE RAAAAAAINNNNNNN ON YOUR WEDDING DAY…
Of course, the ad is terrible. The logic is so clearly screwy, and I’m surprised nobody picked up on the sinister karmic overtones before it went to print. I certainly wouldn’t have signed it off, and nor would any of the creatives I’ve worked with. But is all the righteous indignation doing more harm than good?
First, I don’t for a minute believe that anyone at the MNDA really intended to say: DONATE OR ELSE. It’s just a clumsy, ill-though line that shouldn’t have made it onto the campaign posters (and it’s certainly not the only one of those you’ll see today as you squash yourself into the next Northern line carriage). But many Twitter comments suggest that it’s not just a piece of bad creative, but that it came from bad people – or at least a bad impulse:
Appalling guilt baiting charity advertising.
I don’t give to charities which guilt-trip people. Fuck off.
That’s the first time I’ve ever wanted to say fuck off to a charity fighting an awful disease
I mean, these guys aren’t Protein World. And in some ways, the ad is almost right – for instance, imagine it said something like:
“Last summer, I never thought about motor neurone disease – I didn’t even do the ice bucket challenge. This year I was diagnosed.”
Second, the furore could damage more than MNDA’s donations. OK, maybe the charity will be more careful next time. And that’s good – but only to a point. It’s not good when brands start playing safe with their campaigns, creating work that’s designed to dodge bullets rather than win plaudits. Fear of making mistakes is the death of creativity – and that fear is only accentuated in these days when social media can serve up some of the roughest justice, deserved or otherwise. Critical analysis is one thing – but sweary rage is bruising, demoralising and not constructive.
To anyone who called MNDA out on Twitter today: I totally agree with you that the ad is rubbish. It’s your right to flag it in public, and I actually think you’re right to do so. But, when you do, please show a little compassion. At the end of the day, we all want better work – not bland stuff that leaves us cold.