The Brand Agency’s Drug & Alcohol Office campaign launch makes Media Watch last night
It was bound to happen, wasn’t it? One of our bloggers even flagged its likelihood.
Plenty of eyebrows were raised within the industry when Brand Agency account director Morgen Lewis was featured in a story in The West Australian about the Drug & Alcohol Office’s new campaign. Not normally a big deal except that Lewis was quoted as a 40 year-old working mother who found the commercials very impactful, not as a representative of the agency that produced them!
“Hmm”, thought everyone. “That’s a bit odd.”
We’re betting one of the Brand’s competitors couldn’t get on the phone to Media Watch fast enough when the article first appeared on May 17th. And so the escapade was featured on last night’s episode of the ABC program that delights in exposing attempts to ‘pull the wool’ over an unsuspecting public’s eyes.
16 Comments
For an agency spruiking itself as a professional communications agency, that’s pretty amateurish. Naive Brand.
I gotta say, my shadenfreude is tingling…
yeah bu….
look! what’s that up there?……
TBA
Think.
Again.
I’ve just watched the story on Media Watch and the voice that accompanied Morgan’s statement definitely wasn’t Morgan’s. She’s pulling the wool over our eyes again!
Not only does Morgen work at Brand Agency, she’s the account director on Drug & Alcohol.
Well, sort of. She has been the D&AO account director but is currently on secondment to Curtin University, which, speaking as a 40 year-old working mother, she thinks is an excellent institution and definitely her first preference for her children’s future tertiary education.
(Sorry Morgs – you know we love you but couldn’t resist. It’s all just too funny.)
Martin Trevaskis
Morgen is a chip off the old block…remember her father Richard Lewis when he was the Minister for Planning in the Liberal State Government!
Perhaps Steve Harris would like to disclose that he was a Melbourne supporter before he became president of Fremantle Football Club!
Ok Morgs, I think that what you did was pretty unethical but I can I just say you look good for a 40 year old working mum! No drugs and/or alcohol for you by the look of it.
Morg never touches the hard stuff 😉
Ho hum how very Brand.
Hey Marty, what’s Morgs lecturing in at Curtin…busness ethics?! LOL
I wonder if saying that drinking is REALLY bad for you is going to increase sales in alcohol. hmm doesn’t work for smoking now does it
Morgen Lewis.
Even at age 40.
Still in the top ten ‘cutest in advertising.’
On the facts (sounds very legal, doesn’t it) I think Morgen should have either said no up front or declared the conflict of interest with the journo and let them decide. The fact the journo didn’t ask isn’t the point. This situation is not dissimilar to a marketer opting out of being surveyed for market research purposes; the interviewer doesn’t specifically ask if you work in the game, but it’s common accepted practice…
Mind you, like all these things, hindsight is a wonderful thing…