Friday, 17th April 2009
EU slammed for baby bottle poster
Scots Tory MEP, Struan Stevenson, has attacked a European Parliament advert for its ‘inappropriate use of a baby bottle’ calling for the poster to be withdrawn.
The European Parliament’s news service poster has been designed to illustrate the campaign for the forthcoming Euro elections on 4th June 2009. But, according to Struan Stevenson, the bottle undermines breastfeeding and is in breach of a strict International Code of Breast-milk Substitutes which forbids virtually all forms of advertisements and marketing methods for breast milk substitutes to the general public.
The European Parliament’s ad asks the question “how should we help balance family and career?” and goes on to raise issues of gender equality, implying that women still get a raw deal compared to men in Europe and urging people to vote in the Euro elections to ensure better equal opportunities in future.
Speaking out against the use of the baby bottle, Scottish Conservative Euro MP Struan Stevenson said:
“The European Parliament really hasn’t done itself any favours with this advert. If the concept was to generate interest and raise awareness of gender equality ahead of the European elections in June, then why did it use an image of a baby’s bottle next to a laptop computer? There are so many other images it could have used in its attempt to contrast family and career issues.
“It is frustrating to think that the EU has totally failed to appreciate the inappropriateness of this image. I intend to find out why this image was chosen and ideally I would like to see this poster withdrawn from use.”
