After sending in a complaint, I got this response from MoneyMart’s Director of Corporate Communications, Lorne DeLarge:<\/p>\n
Dear Mr. Russell;<\/p>\n
Thank-you for taking the time to provide us with your comments regarding our
\ntelevision advertisement. Let me say that it is not our intention to
\noffend, demean or disparage any individual or group of people with our
\nadvertising. In fact, we take great pains to ensure that this does not
\noccur. Money Mart prides itself on being a responsible corporate citizen
\nand a responsible advertiser. We do not condone discrimination of any sort,
\nnor would we knowingly engage in it. <\/p>\nWe would like to describe the process that we followed for creating and
\napproving this commercial. We feel that it is important to know the extent
\nof due diligence that we undertake prior to releasing a commercial. <\/p>\nWe have three goals when we create our advertising: (1) the ad needs to be
\nmemorable, (2) the ad needs to clearly display our advertising message and
\n(3) the ad needs to be likable. We strive to ensure that our ads fully
\nreflect these three goals. Any ad considered demeaning or discriminatory
\nwould not fulfill our third objective. <\/p>\nWhen creating advertisements for television, we undergo multiple steps to
\ntest and measure how well we are doing at achieving these three goals.
\nThese steps include initial vetting and refinement of advertising concepts;
\nfocus group testing with randomly selected Canadian consumers; approval by
\nseveral advertising standards organizations and finally, exposure of the ads
\nto a wider audience prior to airing. <\/p>\nEach step of the process was designed to ensure that the objectives for the
\nad were fulfilled. If we had received any indication that this particular
\nad would be considered offensive, we would have taken steps to rectify the
\nsituation. I think that you will agree that our process is both exhaustive
\nand thorough.<\/p>\nThis ad was about an exaggerated, “over the top” presentation of an exchange
\nbetween two generations who have different values and priorities when it
\ncomes to money, not about disparaging an identifiable group. <\/p>\nWe thank-you for taking the time to provide us with your thoughts.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n