Billboard Celebrates Women By Displaying Three Men In Suits

I’m not going to pretend that I’m some high level billboard advertiser, but I’m 100 percent positive that advertising about the achievements of women should actually include photos of women.

The team at Mount Saint Vincent University recently posted a billboard in which they claimed to be heralding their female workers achievements. There is just one problem — the billboard features three adult males in suits.

In discovering the billboard the Halifax Chronicle Herald writes:

The billboard promotes a Mount Saint Vincent University campaign for its Women’s Wall of Honour project, a tribute that will be erected outside the new Margaret Norrie McCain Centre for Teaching, Learning and Research when it opens in December 2014.

For a donation of $1,200, honourees’ names will be included in the Wall of Honor and their stories will be shared on an associated website.

It turns out that all of the men on the billboard are donors to the campaign. On the one hand, it is great that the men wanted to honor women; on the other hand, they did a really good job of stealing the spotlight.

The University has not responded to criticism of the billboards placement, but we have a sneaking suspicion that when they do a spokesMAN for the agency won’t be making the university’s case.

Do you think the billboard was a big advertising blunder for Mount Saint Vincent University?