Controversial advertising campaign – ‘we will make you vomit’.

This poster reads: COME! [presumably as in orgasm] And get the full amount credited. Now we’re making sure Sweden grows with a baby bonus. Get pregnant within 30 days of your purchase and have the full amount credited.

This advertising campaign has been controversial in Sweden. I can understand that, because it felt a distasteful to me and I am not sure why. Today’s world has perhaps taught me that there are some people out there who would make a huge purchase and then impulsively become pregnant in order to receive a refund. The fine print says that the refund is in the form of a credit note to spend in the store, but that is not clear from the advert.

Sweden does indeed have a low birth rate, but that is because people cannot afford to have children, don’t want to have children in this unstable geopolitical and environmental landscape, and there is also a huge housing and financial crisis. Despite the fact that all women work in Sweden, it is still women who shoulder most of the unpaid work in the home. Furthermore, the original advertising campaign requires you to share sensitive medical information in order to qualify. It seems like stupid stunt by yet another advertising agency that is unable to read the room.

Some of the ads say ‘we will make you vomit’.

Marketing manager Eddie Hernandez says that the electronics chain wants to do something that stands out and is relevant and relevant to society right now. The message touches on the low birth rate in Sweden.

– We often discuss social issues and came to the conclusion that the birth rate is very low in Sweden. That is why we want to create this campaign in a fun way and encourage more people to have children, he says.

“What a tasteless campaign. That women’s reproduction is reduced to “getting pregnant” and makes it an exchangeable commodity”.

“Is this an April Fool’s joke in September?”

“The most tasteless and tactless campaign I have seen in a long time. I will stop shopping at Power now”.

You have received strong reactions on social media, where many are critical of the campaign. What do you think?
– Basically, we have had good intentions, but we fully respect that this is an issue that arouses emotions. We want to do something positive for society, says Eddie Hernandez at Power in Sweden.

The new campaign by Power has been reported to the Advertising Ombudsman, reports Aftonbladet. (source)

…and another article

36-year-old Justyna Kaletka is one of those who reported Power for the campaign.

– It’s an incredible PR trick of theirs, but I think it shouldn’t be allowed because there’s so much wrong with this campaign on so many levels.

She has reported Power to both the Swedish Consumer Agency, the Swedish Advertising Ombudsman and the Swedish Data Protection Authority – because of GDPR, explains Justyna, who herself works in marketing.

– As a woman, as a marketing professional and also as a mother, I think it’s very important to talk about what level of marketing we should see and how women and people from different backgrounds are treated in public discourse.

All of the complainants in the documents Siren has seen state that they are women aged 20–35. The campaign has also been reported to the Swedish Advertising Ombudsman by the Swedish Women’s Organisations, which believes it is gender-discriminatory. (source)