Unions criticize ‘insulting’ health ads
A new social media ad campaign by the Quebec Health Department aimed at young people is “demeaning and insulting” to hospital workers and a waste of tax dollars, union leaders charged on Tuesday.
Produced at a cost of $250,000, the campaign features two YouTube videos: one of a teenager who dreams of playing professional basketball and the other of a young woman who wishes to make it big singing.
The catch, though, is that the basketball player is terrible at free throws and the singer can’t carry a melody for dear life. The tag line at the end of each ad reads in French: “We’re waiting for you in health and social services.”
The implication in the ads, say union leaders, is that a career in health is tantamount to a Plan B.
“Working in health care used to be a dream job,” said Jeff Begley, president of the 130,000-strong Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux (FSSS–CSN).
“It’s telling that the government needs to launch an ad campaign to try to recruit young people to work in health care.”
Régine Laurent, president of the one of the largest nurses’ unions in the province, urged Health Minister Gaétan Barrette to withdraw the ads immediately, arguing that they’re in poor taste and send the wrong message to today’s youth.
“We do not believe it is (from a lack of options) that we work in the health network, on the contrary,” said Laurent, of the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec.
“The majority of nurses, nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists choose their careers because they believe in what they do. The last thing they need is for the government to deliver such a scornful and contemptuous message.”
In Quebec City, Barrette insisted there’s nothing wrong with the ads.
“The reaction (by the unions) is totally excessive,” he said. “You know that the purpose of the advertising is to attract the attention of people whom we are targeting.”
And he added that the message is a positive one: “The youth reach a point in their lives when they have to make decisions, and I encourage them to consider the health sector. There are great careers in this field.”
Noémie Vanheuverzwijn, a spokesperson for the Health Department, said the ads are targeted toward Quebecers who are 15 to 17 years old “who are in the process of choosing a career” as well as those who are 18 to 24 and who are considering going back to school or changing jobs.
The videos will be “integrated with articles published on the online sites Narcity and MTL Blog,” Vanheuverzwijn added, suggesting that the government will take advantage of the controversial form of native advertising that disguises ads as objective editorial content.
As for the $250,000 price tag of the campaign, a health-care manager calculated that the sum could be better used to fund 5,000 MRI scans, or pay the salaries of six nurses for a year.