A BBC out-of-home (OOH) advertisement has been criticised for encouraging a “culture of football before family” amid reports that domestic abuse increases when sports tournaments take place.
The ad, promoting BBC’s coverage of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, appears in the form of football scores.
It reads: “Kid’s nativities missed 1:2 Wales highlights watched. Work meetings attended 2:7 refreshing the sport app. Visits to Nan 0:3 England games seen.”
The phrase “It’s the World Cup, though” appears at the bottom of the poster.
LinkedIn users have expressed their outrage at the ‘lad’ nature of the out-of-home advertisement, branding it as a promotion that feeds into negative male stereotypes.
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The Stack World founder Sharmadean Reid MBE took to the networking app to share her belief that the broadcaster’s ad nudges “towards a familial separation and otherness in the home.”
“Research shows that during the 2018 World Cup, reports of domestic abuse increased significantly across England and Wales. So I’m incredibly disappointed to see this BBC Studios advert, encouraging an culture of football before family,” Reid said.
“Who on earth wrote this ad in an era when we have made such incredible gains on male domestic support, shared parental and carer leave and male vulnerability? I had to do a double take and check we weren’t in 2001 Lad Era.”
While Reid declared that she was aware that the ad was not “specifically gendered”, she pointed out that “we all know the role media and advertising plays in stereotypes.”
“This ad dumbs men down as if they can’t do both. You don’t need to negate the family dynamic to enjoy the game”, she added.
“You can love football and your Nan. We are more complex than that. Do better.”
Another LinkedIn user, Bobby Barratt, wrote: “Problem is we’ve slipped into an era which thinks trying to be funny and edgy is good marketing. This one misses the mark.”
A BBC spokesperson has responded to the news by saying: “This is a light hearted take on the nation’s obsession with football.”
