An ad commissioned for the Belo Medical Group has earned the ire of netizens for allegedly conveying a completely negative message when it comes to coping with the Covid-19 pandemic.
THE Covid-19 pandemic has hit people in many different ways, may it be a hard time or a time to rediscover themselves.
In Belo Medical Group’s most recent effort to address the coping measures during the lockdown, they sure did it in the most upsetting way.
Netizens quickly labeled its ad as an ‘insensitive and upsetting’ that allegedly completely conveyed the wrong message for coping.
Released last August 10, the ad titled “Pandemic Effect” shows a conventionally attractive woman whose appearance changes, in an apparent time lapse, while seated on a couch and watching pandemic-related news.
It is very evident in the commercial that the woman was developing dark under eye circles, gaining noticeable weight, extra hair in some body parts, and noticeable blemishes and acne on her face.
While the visuals itself could be interpreted as criticizing people who experienced these changes during the pandemic, the ad went beyond that with their call-to-action strategy.
The ad ends with a tagline that reads “tough times call for beautiful measures” and a call to book a consultation with Belo.
The Belo Ad was made under the advertising agency Gigil, which had earlier gained prominence due to their quick-witted and humorous ads for brands such as the RC Cola, Orocan, and Julie’s Bakeshop.
Gigil said in an official release alongside the ad that the video touches on “negative energy that manifests itself in our appearance, without us even realizing it.”
After a downpour of backlash and criticisms, Belo Medical Group was forced to take it down just a day after its initial release.
Belo took to Instagram to express apology and thanked the social media community for teaching them a lesson through their ad.
The statement reads, "We apologize about our recent Pandemic Effect film. Thank you for being gracious in letting us know your thoughts about it.
"We hear you. You helped us see what we failed to see, which is that the film is insensitive and upsetting. Because of this, we have taken the ad down. We commit ourselves to learning from this and bringing our learnings into the future."
Tags: #advertising, #Covid19pandemic, #copingmechanisms, #BeloMedicalGroup