Greater Vancouver YMCA ADHD Stigma Ad Follow Up

Update2: Maybe the new opening of The Robert Lee YMCA in downtown Vancouver might have something to do why their apology is not on the front page of the Greater Vancouver YMCA’s homepage. Saw their 8-page advertising supplement on it in Saturday, May 8th’s Vancouver Sun.

UPDATE Someone emailed TBWA \ Vancouver (no company Twitter account but here’s Stefan Hawes, Managing Director) & explained why their ADHD ritalins stiga ad was a problem &  asked them why they created it.

They told me they emailed them back, admitted they created the ad and gave them basically the same apology that the YMCA did that I mentioned in my previous post i.e., basically sorry ADHD families were offended by the ad but didn’t admit they made a mistake. Still nothing on TBWA\Vancouver’s website or anywhere online about this. My apologies for not posting this sooner, read his initial email but missed the 2nd one with TBWA\ Vancouver’s response. I’ve updated the original post

Further to my original blog post about the Greater Vancouver YMCA ADHD stigma ad, who are @WDCG_YMCA on Twitter, here’s some new information.

Rebecca Shields, the Executive Director of the Vancouver Burnaby  branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association
told me that she talked with the director of communications of the Greater Vancouver YMCA about their Ritalin ad, here’s her email to me about the topic, posted here with her permission.

I wanted to let you know that I followed up with the YMCA this morning.  I spoke at length with their director of communications. The official response to the ad was posted on the YMCA website.

Furthermore, they have pulled the ad. YMCA is clear that they were in error and understand the wrongness of the message the ad sent and apologize to those individuals and families affected by ADHD as well as the community at large.  Furthermore, we spoke at length about lessons learned by senior management from this incident. I think it was a learning experience for them regarding the difference between trying to be provocative and realizing the negative consequences of those types of strategies.

I am confident that the YMCA, who provides services to 15000 children a year, will in future ensure that their communications create awareness and fight stigma, rather than perpetuating it.

I’m grateful, and I think the tens of thousands of families with ADHD children in Vancouver are also grateful that the head of the Vancouver Burnaby branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association took the time and energy to talk with the Greater Vancouver YMCA about their stigmatizing ad. I’m also glad the Vancouver YMCA learned something about the experience and maybe they will attempt to learn more about families with ADHD, Caddac, and TotallyADD are 2 places to start.

Hopefully, other non-profits and companies in Vancouver  & BC might learn from the YMCA’s experience.

That apology wasn’t on the website before I made the post because I searched the Greater Vancouver YMCA’s website for the keywords ADHD and Ritalin the day I found out about their ad and several days after and did not find that page. I used both their website’s search engine and Google’s search engine, i.e., site:www.vanymca.org ADHD

Disappointingly, there’s no link to the apology from the YMCA’s front page, like you would expect if they wanted families of ADHD children, the public or their membership to find it.

If you click on the “What’s New” link on the home page & click on the “media click here” button you’ll find it.

So I’m glad the Greater Vancouver YMCA has put the apology up online,  have a look at it.

They mention in the apology that the ad ran only once in Metro Vancouver newspaper and 24 Hours Vancouver newspaper and not in any other media outlet, good to know that. I’ve updated that on my original blog post.

A video that started the TBWA\Vancouver Greater Vancouver YMCA’s “Where did community go?” campaign that the ADHD Stigma ad and the foster children ad was part of

or here on the Greater Vancouver YMCA’s offical YouTube channel Here’s the text of a comment that was removed by user MrUnsellables000 and later flagged as spam when they posted the same comment again

This was good but they ruined the good part with their disgusting ads about medicated children and children with ADHD.

What did kids do before they had medication? They LIVED with a condition that made their life more difficult. No apology from TBWA/Vancouver

Wonder why the YMCA deleted that comment when these arguably more critical comments were let through?

ProjectWander: Someone else blaming bad parenting on the internet. Pretty sure until a child is 18, parents can control everything they are exposed to. In short, blame bad parenting on the internet, but say that the YMCA is a get out of jail free card. nice.

frackle: only good thing ymca did was provide a base for the early gay community now it is a relic of the past sorry ymca you had a good run

theMarcusBC: The YMCA is in search of purpose in Vancouver as it’s services become less attractive in a city with new infrastructure. When they say it’s time to take the community back the Y means it want’s its market share back.

To anyone still unsure why The Greater Vancouver YMCA / TBWA\Vancouver ADHD stigma ad is a problem, read Sandy Alletto-Corbin’s strong blog post on the YMCA’s ad here’s an excerpt

…there is a very strong sub text implying that with “good ole hard work,” or if you would just ” tighten those boot straps” and get these kids involved with some healthy exercise, and a little strong discipline, then that is the KEY to success with these KIDS”, which implies the stereotype  that these kids are just lazy  and/or just not being raised properly, which is the other stereotype, to lay all the blame on home and upbringing. Of course that usually lands on the shoulders of the MOM!