What's It Got to Do With Us?

Molly Russell was 14 when she took her own life Last month an inquest found that Molly quotdied from an act of selfharm while suffering from depression and the negative effects of online contentquotIt seems trite inappropriate for an advertising commentator to write about such a horrendous episode But our world does intersect with reality That is true even with something as terrible as thisThe coroner said Molly39s death was in part at least down to quotthe negative effects of online contentquotMolly39s father Ian Russell accused Meta Instagram was where the online content in question appeared of guiding his daughter on a quotdemented trail of life sucking contentquot By that he meant content related to suicide depression selfharm and anxietyMeta39s head of health and wellbeing policy Elizabeth Lagone described the content seen by Molly as quotsafequot because it adhered to content guidelines in place at the time She later rowed back on this and apologizedMany advertisers go to great lengths to do and to be seen to do quotthe right thingquot They invest in greener packaging they support recycling programs they change their ingredients to remove harmful elements they reduce salt and sugar content they fund grassroots fitness initiatives and so onBut when it comes to where they advertise as opposed to what they advertise they look the other wayI have written here several times about the need to consider context as well as costperthousand I have argued that editorial freedom is important and pulling ads because you do not happen to agree with a political pointofview is dangerousBut the lines are blurring and no more so than in social mediaSocial media consists of platforms The word is important the likes of Facebook do not accept any but the smallest responsibility for the content that appearsThey are not in their view publishers They do not edit They grudgingly produce quotguidelinesquot designed to weed out the worst illegal excesses Some would rather not even go that farFreedom of speech does not as the clichamp233 has it permit you to run into a crowded theater and yell quotfirequot There must be some responsibility and where a line is crossed as happened here in newspapers with phone hacking there must be consequencesMy friends at MediaVillage in the US tell me that these days at the large majority of the top 200 advertisers in the USA media investments report into procurement and on to the CFO or direct to the CEOCost is paramount cost trumps context cost even trumps effectivenessSo if your brand could advertise cheaply on a channel promoting insurrection or violence is that okay If it39s cheap and there39s an audience it seems soThe best procurement people don39t think like this understanding that not paying attention to media placements can damage a brand39s reputation at a cost far beyond any cheap cpm savings but the best are rareWhat is so weird is that this obsession with costperthousand is based upon dubious unverified audience numbers provided by those doing the selling So the cpm is not even accurateWould a CFO or procurement chief sanction an investment in a new plant without a thorough understanding that the data on which his or her decision is based is robust Or without checks that the machinery being installed was safeThis caution this best practice does not apparently come into play when it comes to any assessment of online advertisingThere is no clearer case that in this digital age and despite access to data and cases proving the exact opposite advertising is seen more as a cost than an investmentReformulating products investing in recyclable packaging are not cheap things to do Yet they are undertaken as an investment because consumers will punish those who choose cheapness over say sustainabilityIt is about time the same principles of safety and responsibility were applied to media choicesAdvertisers wield huge power over the likes of Facebook amp8211 a lot more than they do over newspapers A 14yearold girl died at the very least in part because of images she saw on social media No doubt others have been affected have died or will dieIt is not good enough for advertisers to plead that this has nothing to do with them They should make it clear that they will not support any channel any platform without being assured that the necessary steps are in place to protect the audience And as a minor addon to measure its size unequivocally and accuratelyThis blog is I know read by many advertisers and their professional advisors in media agencies I hope they will reflect on what happened to Molly Russell and to the many other Molly Russells around the worldWe may not be responsible for society39s evils but all of us surely should do what we can to address themInvite job candidates to apply live during the Media and Advertising Communityamp8217s Black Talent Outreach Week at MediaVillagecom and AdvancingDiversityorg October 1720 Apply for jobssubmit your resume hereamp160amp160Click the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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What's It Got to Do With Us?

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Brian Jacobs

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