A commercial currently being aired on local radio and television stations which uses the analogy of a child asking her mother for money to portray the current impasse between the government and trade unions over the five per cent wage offer has been generating negative responses on call-in programmes and online social networks. The ad, produced by Ross Advertising, has become the focus of an intense Facebook discussion in which it is condemned as "tasteless, offensive, and woefully inappropriate." In addition, callers to radio stations have expressed concern that the ad has racist overtones and sends a negative message by portraying rude and impertinent behaviour from a child to a parent.
However, Ernie Ross, Creative Director of Ross Advertising, yesterday dismissed criticisms of the ad and said it would be wrong to draw any ethnic inferences from it. He also maintained that the analogy is appropriate. According to Ross, the ad is effective because it has stimulated discussion on an issue of national importance-the threatened shutdown of the country with a national strike. "We tried to break it down to a simple matter anyone can relate to. That is what the ad is intended to do," he explained. "The fact that it is resonating the way it is means that it is working. We needed to get a simple point across in the strongest possible terms.
At the end of the day, we're getting the message across." Ross told the T&T Guardian the commercial was tested before its release and most members of the test group, which included five children, got the point. While he could not say whether other material will be released, Ross revealed that the current footage is part of an ongoing campaign focused on the labour issue and "it is evolving." The ad has also caught the attention of the trade unionist. On Thursday Oilfields Workers' Trade Union (OWTU) President General Ancel Roget called on the government to immediately withdraw the "distasteful ad."
