Festival fined £70,000 for advertising campaign using texts from 'Mum' - Polidicks

[quote=Manchester Evening News]Bosses of Heaton Park music festival Parklife have been fined £70,000 after sending out a text message to festival-goers that came up in their phones as being sent from ‘Mum’.The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has branded the stunt in May this year ‘poorly thought out’ and ‘unacceptable’ - after hearing from one distraught festival fan whose own mother had recently died. Festival bosses sent the text to people on their mailing list to promote club nights - but many branded it upsetting. The message read: “Some of the Parklife after parties have already sold out. If your(sic) going, make sure your(sic) home for breakfast! Xxx" One complainant received the texts just weeks after his own mum had died when he still had her number saved in his phone and described it as ‘unprofessional and disgusting’. The ICO also noted Parklife’s flippant response as people started to complain initially after the text, when [b]boss Sacha Lord-Marchionne tweeted: ”So this is what it feels like to be a jar of Marmite #LoveItOrHateIt.”[/b][/quote] [t]https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10406697_10152545636151032_4738161469003481548_n.jpg?oh=0cfafecf4859671750c7312ec40f9f19&oe=550380C6[/t] [URL="http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/parklife-fined-70000-trying-sell-8229658"]source[/URL]

[QUOTE]after hearing from one distraught festival fan whose own mother had recently died.[/QUOTE] That's gotta suck. :(

reminds me of this [IMG]http://media.offbeatempire.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/05/social-justice-league.jpg[/IMG]

In my old school, it became popular to slag each other by involving mothers. Eventually the silly exchanges would go like this: [B]Kid 1:[/B] You're Ma was a dirty ride last night. She said you're to call me "Da" from now on. [B]Kid 2:[/B] Me Ma's dead. [I](Irish accent obviously)[/I] Saying she was dead was meant to make the instigator feel guilty. But... [B]Kid 1:[/B] Yeah, I was so good it killed her.

[QUOTE=ElRobb;46647324]reminds me of this [IMG]http://media.offbeatempire.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/05/social-justice-league.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] yo they didn't just send out a message like "hey this is the festival, it's gonna be so good that even mums will love it!". they faked it so that your phone comes through with a message that says it's from your mum. maybe some people are unnecessarily offended. maybe not. but if you assume that maybe 1 out of 20 young people have lost a parent, and the festival hosts tens of thousands of guests, you're talking at minimum 1000 potentially upset customers. why would a company do that? but more importantly, why would you - someone whom this doesn't affect at all - be annoyed that people are offended? bear in mind people wrote to the company to disclose their disgust and upset - this isn't just people being offended on the behalf of others. and then the boss has the audacity to claim that this is just like marmite maybe you should read the email posted in the op and understand the feelings that someone who has recently lost their mother would feel upon seeing a text from 'mum'. but then again i guess that would require empathy and that's too much work for the anti-pc crowd regardless, you've got to wonder how a marketing move this terribly dumb managed to get okay'd

[QUOTE=Bradyns;46647221]That's gotta suck. :([/QUOTE] Three years. It sucks, but that's not that recent.

That person's e-mail was heart-breaking

[QUOTE=Nebukadnezzer;46648585]Three years. It sucks, but that's not that recent.[/QUOTE] dumb bitch should just get over it tbh right? pc brigade am i right

Imagine being the guy whose mum died a week before this - and the text wasn't just labelled as 'mum' it was meant to imply that the text was in fact from your mother and the language used was intended to reinforce that I know I'd be fucking gutted

[QUOTE=ChestyMcGee;46648406]yo they didn't just send out [... RANT...] but then again i guess that would require empathy and that's too much work for the anti-pc crowd[/QUOTE] The fact that someone pretty much complained saying they don't have a mother, justifies Elrobb being reminded of and linking that image. I'm sure ElRobb understands how the message could cause emotional problems. I doubt they are sociopathic. And maybe ElRobb is more empathetic towards people that can see the bright side of life - as opposed to those who share their personal miseries with hopes to make the world as unoffensive as possible.

Does the constitution protect the right of people to be not offended?

[QUOTE=Kardia;46648697]those who share their personal miseries with hopes to make the world as unoffensive as possible.[/QUOTE] you're blaming a girl who's mother died for being upset and making other people upset by sharing her upset??? lol wtf dude [editline]6th December 2014[/editline] yo your mum died kid and we're gonna send you this text saying it's from your mum, but try to look on the bright side of life so as not to offend facepunch user elrobb

[QUOTE=ChestyMcGee;46648721]you're blaming a girl who's mother died on being upset and making other people upset by sharing her being upset??? lol wtf dude [editline]6th December 2014[/editline] yo your mum died kid and we're gonna send you this text saying it's from your mum, but try to look on the bright side of life so as not to offend facepunch user elrobb[/QUOTE] Can people be upset without doing a big fuss about it? *sees message from mum* (mom died a week ago) * lol wtf, deletes message* *goes on with life*

[QUOTE=Toudrou;46648739]*sees message from mum" (mom died a week ago) * lol wtf*, deletes message* *goes on with life*[/QUOTE] this is victim-blaming through and through like her email says, this girl broke down from seeing the text. immediately. it was heart-wrenchingly confusing and upsetting for her. she has spent basically her entire life watching her mum die from MS but nope i guess she should just suck it up and let people get away with obviously terrible marketing ploys the amount of effort a number of fp users will put into picking apart someone's emotions, ridiculing them, judging them, and demonising them for natural human reactions if endlessly fascinating and nauseating

[QUOTE=ChestyMcGee;46648769]this is victim-blaming through and through like her email says, this girl broke down from seeing the text. immediately. it was heart-wrenchingly confusing and upsetting for her. she has spent basically her entire life watching her mum die from MS but nope i guess she should just suck it up and let people get away with obviously terrible marketing ploys the amount of effort a number of fp users will put into picking apart someone's emotions, ridiculing them, judging them, and demonising them for natural human reactions if endlessly fascinating and nauseating[/QUOTE] Why should marketing people cater to the feelings of other people?, seriously just shut off your phone if you can't handle that shit.

[QUOTE=Toudrou;46648785]Why should marketing people cater to the feelings of other people?, seriously just shut off your phone if you can't handle that shit.[/QUOTE] because it's shit marketing if it turns people off your product or service? are you serious lol

[QUOTE=Toudrou;46648785]Why should marketing people cater to the feelings of other people?, seriously just shut off your phone if you can't handle that shit.[/QUOTE] victim blaming why should someone have to turn off their phone on the off-chance that a marketing company might text them a totally insensitive message? wtf man? a marketing company should be weary of people's feelings cos... ya know... that's their fucking job. people are employed to deal with the public in a tactful way, not send out texts to literally tens of thousands of people saying it's from their 'mum'

[QUOTE=Toudrou;46648739]Can people be upset without doing a big fuss about it? *sees message from mum* (mom died a week ago) * lol wtf, deletes message* *goes on with life*[/QUOTE] Holy fucking shit what the hell is going on with this forum to keep attracting straight up headcases recently? Losing a family member (one you care for at least) isn't something you "just get over", it sticks with you for the rest of your life. You might not think about it every waking hour, and after some time will come to terms with it. But every so often it's going to come back to you, and it fucking hurts man, it's hard to actually convey that feeling, it's a bit more than "man I feel down". Jesus Christ, where did this army of emotionally stunted anti-"PC" crusaders come from that seem to want people to just shut up about their emotions and act like robots or something? Emotion is a massive part of being human, I've got my own issues and I fucking understand this. There's no reason for such a large number of you to not. [editline][/editline] I don't really care that was a gimmick account, this applies to a stupid number of users here.

[QUOTE=Toudrou;46648785]Why should marketing people cater to the feelings of other people?, seriously just shut off your phone if you can't handle that shit.[/QUOTE] this is a contender for the dumbest post ever

[QUOTE=Kardia;46648697]The fact that someone pretty much complained saying they don't have a mother, justifies Elrobb being reminded of and linking that image. I'm sure ElRobb understands how the message could cause emotional problems. I doubt they are sociopathic. And maybe ElRobb is more empathetic towards people that can see the bright side of life - as opposed to those who share their personal miseries with hopes to make the world as unoffensive as possible.[/QUOTE] yes i'm sure that's why these people shared their personal miseries, they want to make the world unoffensive and PC, they're not genuinely distraught over their dead mothers

i only have empathy for people that never call me out on stupid unfunny shit i say

[QUOTE=Toudrou;46648739]Can people be upset without doing a big fuss about it? *sees message from mum* (mom died a week ago) * lol wtf, deletes message* *goes on with life*[/QUOTE] What kind of thought process is this? If I saw a message from "mom" and my mom's dead I would be pretty damn sad and confused. This isn't a SJW brigade to make the world unoffensive, I don't see how it can be.

why does this forum attract so many people with next to no social sensibilities

i have empathy for dogfuckers and pedophiles and believe this forum should be a place for posting our porn fantasies but fuck any loser who gets upset by the death of their mother. fucking pc-brigade at it again

Should've sent a message titled *trigger warning* before they sent that message. Poor girl. [highlight](User was permabanned for this post ("Gimmick" - Blazyd))[/highlight]

[QUOTE=Yahnich;46648883]at least man up and post this on your real account[/QUOTE] This is my real account

[QUOTE=ChestyMcGee;46648721]you're blaming a girl who's mother died for being upset and making other people upset by sharing her upset??? lol wtf dude[/QUOTE] I'm not blaming her for being upset. I'm blaming her for complaining. People will probably be fired as a result of this backlash. Do they deserve that? I don't think so. Would the plaintiff's mum have wanted these people fired? What would she say if she was with us now? Maybe she would tell her daughter to enjoy the world and go to a festival or two. Get her mind off things. [QUOTE=ChestyMcGee;46648721]yo your mum died kid and we're gonna send you this text saying it's from your mum, but try to look on the bright side of life[/QUOTE] Exactly. [QUOTE=ChestyMcGee;46648721]so as not to offend facepunch user elrobb[/QUOTE] Nah. I don't think offend is the right word. More like reminding user ElRobb that the world is full of sensitive people who just need to look on the bright side. It's their only hope. Complaining about every tragedy won't help.

-snop-

christ what happened in this thread

[QUOTE=Kardia;46648906]I'm not blaming her for being upset. I'm blaming her for complaining. People will probably be fired as a result of this backlash. Do they deserve that? I don't think so. Would the plaintiff's mum have wanted these people fired? What would she say if she was with us now? Maybe she would tell her daughter to enjoy the world and go to a festival or two. Get her mind off things. Exactly. Nah. I don't think offend is the right word. More like sadden user ElRobb.[/QUOTE] are you some incredibly passive person that never reacts to anything no matter how it affects you?