Creators of Obesity Campaign Accused of Having 'Surplus Stupidity'

• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, January 9, 2014

It's not only Americans who are overweight. Over in Israel, obesity is apparently a problem as well. Working with local ad agencies, outdoor form JCDecaux crafted a campaign aimed at reminding parents of the deleterious effects of sugary snacks. To do so, billboards of cartoonishly fat-faced kids were erected. Billboard copy read, "When your child gets fat, his smile shrinks." A TV ad shows a kid with a chubby stomach and a belly button in the shape of a sad face along with copy that read, "Most cases of depression among children are tied to their appearance. Parents, help your children be happy." It wasn't long before accusations of "fat shaming" were hurled at the campaign. Israeli blogger Sharona Reouveni wrote, “The campaign lacks compassion and therefore promotes shame and guilt. I can’t help but wonder what happened to the people behind this campaign that turned them so apathetic about the feelings of others.” Facebook user Roni Gelbfish posted, "Generations of psychologists won't be able to heal the damage done by the new campaign." Campaign spoofs have been created that shoot back at the copywriters behind the work. One spoof reads, “When a copywriter is an idiot, his mind shrinks. Three out of four copywriters in Israel suffer from surplus stupidity.”

Can your ad agency get business without pitching? Agency Post's Peter Levitan thinks there's a handful of agencies that can. After hearing from several agency CEO's that they'd love their New Year's resolution to be "win without pitching," he compiled a list of agencies he thinks can succeed at that task. Who's on the list? VaynerMedia, Droga5 and Fuse. Does your agency have what these agencies have to win business without pitching? That'd be a perfect list to be on, right?

The Barbarian Group, one of our most favorite agencies on the planet, has hired former McCann Creative Director Robert Lund as the agency's new creative director. Lund will oversee the development of Pepsi's creative work across the agency as well as contribute to new business efforts. He will report to CEO Sophie Kelly and the agency's chairman, Benjamin Palmer. Lund has both big American brand experience, having worked on Chevrolet and MasterCard, as well as overseas experience working on IKEA, Reebok Europe and Swedish Radio. He's also a Titanium Lion winner for the IKEA Facebook Showroom. Of the hire, Kelly said, "Robert is a hugely talented digital creative, who has experience doing top-notch television and film work for large global brands. 2014 is about acquiring talent with the experience and versatility to deliver cross-platform creative solutions. Robert will play an integral role as we continue to build our relationship with Pepsi across all channels."