On International Women’s Day it was reported that the police had been called in to deal with death threats made against comedy double act Flo & Joan, who perform light-hearted comedy songs and feature on the latest Nationwide adverts.
Sara Bennison, Nationwide’s chief marketing officer, issued a statement condemning the trolls: “When we saw an audition tape for Flo & Joan, gut feel told us all that they were a delightfully fresh take on things like loyalty which are at the heart of Nationwide.
“Social media has provided a great instant barometer of reaction – good and bad. The huge amount of likes and shares have been great.
“But then there are others who have chosen to post the most vile, abusive and misogynistic comments about the duo.
“It is not just our Flo & Joan adverts that generate these comments, it is also our adverts that feature people of different colours, backgrounds and perceived sexuality, which attract the most criticism.
“That’s why it is important to call out those persistent offenders who put out vile comments on a regular basis and who should really know better. That is why Nationwide is looking to work with other brands, industry bodies and the Met Police to look at the true scale of this worrying trend to spread hate from behind a keyboard and attempt to create a solution to tackle the issue.
“It’s one thing not to like an advert, another to threaten to kill the stars of it. Abuse is abuse and that’s never OK in our book.”
Good to know.
In other news Richard Herring’s annual Twitter stunt in which he responds to every person asking when International Men’s Day is (19th November – as well you know) went exceptionally well. This year the comic, writer and podcaster took the opportunity to raise money for Refuge, a charity that helps victims of domestic abuse. Over 9000 people contributed to the charity, raising over £135,000!
Tweeting from his account Richard Herring said: “Together today we have done something truly beautiful. Twitter can be a force for good, even if you have to put something bad into it and squeeze out the juice … I just like answering the same question 500 times. Anything else is a bonus.”
Refuge responded saying: “It’s unbelievable, we’re blown away! Thank you so much to everyone for your generous donations and of course to Richard for your ultra marathon of tweets.”
