Last week, following the mistakes of AT&T and Old Navy, Wells Fargo is the latest company that has decided to go after the arts in their latest ad campaign for "Teen Day," seen below.
Multiple Broadway actors have posted their 140 character tweets calling out Wells Fargo, some reminding the bank that they have their own show tune named after them (The Music Man, anyone)!
In this writer's personal opinion, this type of marketing completely goes against the saying "any publicity is good publicity!" Why are we telling children and teens that their aspirations are wrong? Why are we neglecting the benefits of a career in the arts? Why are law and science careers the only feasible ones?
If no one pursued the arts, there would be no more movies to see, television shows to watch, or music to listen to. There would be no posters in your dull office, no one to take your yearly family portrait, or anyone to run your little advertising department. The arts are a vital part of today's society, and telling children that they don't have a chance or that they won't make any money from it so they should give up, is absolutely disgraceful. Let children dream and go after what they want, because they'll be happy doing it.
As published by BroadwayWorld, following the outcries of the actors and public, Wells Fargo did later release a statement saying, "Wells Fargo is deeply committed to the arts, and we offer our sincere apology for the initial ads promoting our Sept. 17 Teen Financial Education Day. They were intended to celebrate all the aspirations of young people and fell short of that goal. We are making changes to the campaign's creative that better reflect our company's core value of embracing diversity and inclusion, and our support of the arts. Last year, Wells Fargo's support of the arts, culture and education totaled $93 million."
Sorry Wells Fargo, but you made a big mistake like AT&T and Old Navy before you. Parents, please don't make these mistakes either.