A letter to Sir Stephen Tindall

“Dear Sir Stephen

I am taking the liberty of writing to you at the Tindall Foundation. My reason is that if this letter, which is about a serious matter, was sent ‘C/- The Warehouse’, it would be unlikely to reach you.

My concern is about the gender grooming present both this year and last, in Warehouse TV advertisements for children’s toys. It is subtle, almost to the point of being subliminal, but represents something that in my view is quite sinister. In last year’s ad and the current one, the young boy is portrayed dancing as a transvestite. What this adds to the toy marketing message I’m at a loss to understand.

If your creative staff try to fob it off as just childish hi-jinks, I would ask: Why is the female child not portrayed cross-dressed?

I need hardly tell you, what gender manipulation has done to corporations overseas although if we consider the Bud Light example, it could as well be put down to plain stupidity as opposed to intention. Either way, the result for the Annhauser Corporation has been catastrophic.

On another level, it is hard to reconcile these ads (now in their second year), with your stated outlook: ‘At The Tindall Foundation, we have a family approach to what we do’”.

..and the ‘non-reply’:

‘Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback.

Feedback from our customers and the wider New Zealand community is important to us and we have shared your letter with our customer experience team’.

I wonder how long it will take for corporations to realise that customers are also bloggers?