Distorted view in perspective

I write concerning Sean Brierley’s article “It’s time brands stood down from the moral high ground”, (MW last week) and the photograph of part of the Saatchi & Saatchi Design team therein. While it is nearly always a delight to be featured in Marketing Week, this is not one of those occasions.

The Saatchi & Saatchi Design team that worked with Comic Relief on their fundraising campaign were upset to see themselves misrepresented within the article denouncing the use of brands through cause-related marketing, to enhance companies’ ethical credentials.

Saatchi & Saatchi Design was approached by Comic Relief to see whether the staff were interested in working with them on a pro bono basis only (as Sean Brierley proposes in his piece), in support of their fundraising initiatives.

The Saatchi & Saatchi Design team donated thousands of hours of their time to complete the project in a genuine effort to improve the quality and efficacy of Comic Relief’s communications. There was no cynical attempt at improving our ethical credentials, just a genuine desire to do a good job for a good cause.

Simon Steel

Managing director

Saatchi & Saatchi Design

London W1