Controversial Ad Mocks Working Moms
The stereotype of a working mother as a frazzled and unprofessional rears its ugly head in this ad created by a real estate firm. (Photo: Kirotv.com)
A flyer sent to hundreds of homeowners in a town outside Seattle scored plenty of attention last week — but not for the reasons the real estate firm that mailed it out probably hoped for.
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The ad sparked outrage because of the way it depicted working moms. And even after the real estate firm of Costello and Costello issued an apology, criticism continued — which might explain why the company’s social media channels are down.
It all started last week, when a colorful ad from Costello and Costello landed in homeowners’ mailboxes. One side of the ad showed a harried mom in her unkempt home literally tied up by her three young kids, with words “Part Time Agent” across it.
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The other side featured two clean-cut, smiling guys, identified by Kirotv.com as company owners Chase and Jeffrey Costello, with “Full Time Professionals” emblazoned across their photo.
“Who Would You Rather Represent You?” read the bottom of the ad; on the flip side of the mom photo are the words, “available at their convenience, not yours,” says KiroTV.com.
The implication is clear: Working-mom real estate agents don’t work as hard or as much as their male counterparts. Because they have a family to take care of, their job isn’t their priority. Yahoo Parenting reached out to Chase Costello, but did not receive a reply.
The message has left working mothers across the Seattle area blasting the ad, annoyed that a stereotype that last resonated in the 1970s keeps rearing its ugly head.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 60 percent of married mothers with children work outside the home. Demographic information compiled by the National Association of Realtors shows that 58 percent are female — a number that increases to 68 percent when it comes to part-time real-estate agents.
“It’s so bad, it’s so bad,” Robin Baldwin, who has three children and works part-time, told KiroTV.com. “I don’t know if there were no women in the office who could quality control that or not.”
On Wednesday, Costello and Costello reportedly posted an apology on its Facebook page. The apology was also published in realtytoday.com.
“The Costello Team would like to apologize for our last marketing piece and we take full responsibility for it,” it reads. “We have received a flood of emotionally charged messages and phones calls, and we thank you for your responses. As sons of a single working mother and agents trying to build a family business, these reactions were difficult and important for us to hear.”
The apology goes on to explain that many of the firm’s agents are mothers, and that they “have the utmost respect for moms and working mothers.”
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