‘Tasteless’ advertisement on sinking annoys

Press, 24 February 1986, Page 13

‘Tasteless’ advertisement on sinking annoys

NZPA-AAP Melbourne A Melbourne advertising executive has handed in his American Express card to protest against a “tasteless” advertisement that he says capitalises on last week’s sinking of the Soviet cruise liner Mikhail Lermontov. Kenn Clencie has decided he is one man who definitely can “leave home without it”. The advertisment — featuring the company’s familiar slogan “Don’t leave home without it” — appeared in Thursday’s copy of the Financial Review.

It showed a tear-out of a news report on the sinking which quoted an Adelaide survivor as saying he managed to save his gold American Express card. He used it to get a room in “the best pub in town,” the report said. Mr Clencie, aged 45, in advertising for 25 years and a director of a number of advertising and

public relations companies, has said that he would also call in about a dozen other American Express cards from his companies.

"I got hot under the collar when I read the advertisment,” Mr Clencie said.

“The advertising profession is trying to avoid a losing battle against Governments who may regulate us if we don’t impose self-regulation standards and along comes this lunatic advertisement,” he said.

The advertisement was placed by the international firm of Ogilvy and Mather. Mr Clencie, a former executive member of the Australian Federation of Advertisers, said, “I am amazed that an agency of their standing could have put in an advertisement like that.”

Ogilvy and Mather was not immediately available for comment, but American Express accepted re-

sponsibility for the advertisement.

“We certainly did not intend to capitalise on the the tragedy,” said the company’s vice-president of sales and marketing, Ms Norma Arnold, in Sydney.

“If the advertisement is perceived to be in bad taste, we will have to be very careful in the future," she said. American Express had a world-wide customer care service to assist during disasters. Company personnel were at Sydney and Wellington airports after the sinking of the cruise liner to assist customers, Ms Arnold said.

“We were concerned about our customers being trapped in the disaster,” she said. Mr Clencie, who has held an American Express card for 15 years, will write to the company, the agency, and the various advertising agency industry bodies to complain about the advertisement.