What Overture Interactive really think of women.
I recently had an enquiry for advertising Bingo on Birds on the Blog.
I declined the adverts (see email correspondence below) and they still insisted that we are a good match. They said - We are of the opinion that women thick enough to read your mundane blog posts would surely love bingo. Your dimwit readership and our exciting bingo games would be a perfect match. Would you reconsider?
Well after that rather patronising response, I said I’d ask you, our readers. You know what Overture Interactive and Ewelina think of you, what do you think of their Bingo adverts?
We are of the opinion that women thick enough to read your mundane blog posts would surely love bingo. Your dimwit readership and our exciting bingo games would be a perfect match. Would you reconsider?
On Feb 1, 2012 3:48 PM, “Sarah | Business Women Blogging” wrote:
Hello Ewelina
Thank you for your message.
Sadly we are not interested in Bingo and the like. We think there is more to life and women than playing games.Thank you for taking an interest in Birds on the Blog, unfortunately we are not a match.
Sarah
On 01/02/2012 20:43, Ewelina overtureinteractive@gmail.com wrote:
> Hello Sarah,
> I represent a network of websites that provides free online games (such as bingo) that award cash prizes. I think Birds on the Blog would be a great match for us. We are willing to offer competitive advertising rates, and can provide banner advertising, pop-ups/pop-unders, and more to your visitors. If you could send me some details on your demographics, daily unique visitors, and advertising rates, it would be much appreciated. Thank you very much for your time. Best regards, Ewelina
>
About Sarah ArrowSarah Arrow is the managing editor of Birds on the Blog, in real life she is the communications director of a same day courier service. She is an enthusiastic UK based pro-blogger and co- author of the soon to be published Zero to Blogger
View all posts by Sarah Arrow →
42 Responses to What Overture Interactive really think of women.
In her shoes: My descent in entrepreneurial hell
In her shoes is a series of anonymous posts from women in business, sharing their experience. In your comments you are asked to answer the question – What would you do in her shoes? My story began 9 months ago; it is a story of self-realisation, friendship, love and betrayal. After 11 years at home [...]
Oh My Goodness!
A copy of “How to Win Friends and Influence People” is winging it’s way to Ewelina as we speak….
It doesn’t happen often, but I’m truly speechless…
Charles Conway I lovingly typed…Vodafone phishing – The force is strong with this one….
Twitter: scam_detectives
If they are a big company somebody is going to be sacked!
Graham I lovingly typed…You Might Have Missed This, Spain is Different 6
Twitter: grahunt
I would comment but I’m too busy waiting for my moment to shout “HOUSE!”
Paula Jones I lovingly typed…Learned Helplessness – learning the wrong lessons
Twitter: PaulaGreenJones
My response is short as I’m lost for words. What an extraordinary attitude and I’d be surprised if she still has a job at the end of this, she certainly doesn’t appear to have the organisation’s best interests at heart.
Jackie Walker I lovingly typed…Reason to Love Yourself #4 – Because it feels good
Twitter: jackiewalker
A shocking response, and clearly a company that does not understand social media!
Well done for outing them Sarah, I hope everyone who reads this tweets and shares this post all over the internet – someone deserves a slap for this response!
Nikki Pilkington I lovingly typed…Don’t bother with Google Plus
Twitter: nikkipilkington
Sarah I’m pleased you posted this – shame on them! Don’t they realise how powerful us women are and how large your readership is?
Their email is utterly disgusting – I’m shocked that they have no manners let alone what they think about us.
I’m a great believer in Karma and I’m sure they’re get theirs!
I hope people share this post (I know I will be) and no doubt they will lose not only a lot of business but their reputation will be affected.
Lilach Bullock I lovingly typed…Would you, should you use Social Oomph?
Twitter: lilachbullock
WOW and double WOW!
The only thing interactive about Elwina is her need to go find a new job.
David Long I lovingly typed…Do you need an app for that?
Twitter: mktgdigital
The response smacks of someone used to cold calling for double glazing companies who has had enough of the knock-backs. I have had such insulting comments when cold callers ring, but to put something like that in writing is surely professional suicide.
Well done for sharing, people and companies like this do not deserve to be in business
Twitter: joillingworth
My God, I can’t believe that a woman actually wrote that. Well done for ‘outing her’ as Nikkis says. Let’s hope she learns that your readership are capable of thinking for themselves and making sure that this company’s rude and sexist attitude is ‘punished’
Nicola Gaughan I lovingly typed…Celebrities and designers help raise funds for the Find Your Feet charity
Twitter: iconiccreative
I love it! Such a great case study – it’s going into my resource file. I can almost hear the conversation in the pub with Ewelina’s mates at having been so clever and witty… until the call into the boss’s office. Hurrah for the internet: exposing lousy attitudes everywhere.
Joanna Pieters I lovingly typed…How to set up a powerful content review process
Twitter: joannapieters
Obviously ‘customer service’ is not something this operative is even vaguely aware of. She doesn’t even seem to have read the response and why does she need demographics if she knows that there is a good match? Loads of holes in her pitch – unprofessional, lacking in knowledge, insulting – wonder if she knows what ‘thick’ means and if she realises that she has demonstrated its meaning effortlessly!
I wonder how long it will be before Overture catch up with this on social media. The longer it is, the more that says about their currency with how marketing works today – and the less likely it is that their own marketing or the opportunity they offer advertisers is to be effective.
Twitter: lesleywriter
Would just like to agree with the previous comments – Ewelina needs a few lessons in tact and diplomacy!! I reckon Overture Interactive need to review their customer service protocols…..
Naomi Johnson I lovingly typed…Google Plus For Business
Twitter: njjsocialmedia
I think Ewelina’s response is unbelievably crass unless you consider the type of company she’s working for? I would like to say I wish them both well but the best I can come up with is that I wish them joy of each other!
Babs (dumphimlove) I lovingly typed…Punished By Their Silence – An Unpleasant Side To Twitter
Twitter: dumphimlove
Shocked! I’ve never been a big fan of bingo – as you said I’m a woman with more things to do with my time than play these kind of games.
The shame of it is that they are not so likely to lose too many customers if this stays amongst your regular readership as no-one reading this is likely to be a massive bingo player anyway!
So let’s get it out there – tweet it, facebook it etc!
Gemma Thompson I lovingly typed…Vlogging – Is it better than blogging?
Twitter: GemLThompson
Overture Interactive – such a professional company that they use Gmail addresses!
The bingo sites they “work for” seem to have the same email address. It looks like they are something to do with Chelbis.com and based in Cyprus.
Oh dear. Oh dear. Oh dear. (That’s the only printable response I can manage!)
Twitter: karenknott
Wow! I wonder if she was doing that for a bet. How incredibly rude – that’s one for us all to watch out for and avoid. Or is she a couple of months early and meant her reply for 1st April?
Would be flabbergasted if I had time
Thanks for letting us know what they think of us.
Babs Saul I lovingly typed…WordPress and Pinterest – Pinning It
Twitter: babssaul
Oh deary me, dimwit is as dimwit does. This one is going to get tweeted far and wide!
Twitter: Trucking_Lady
Ewelina by name EEewwwuuu by nature
Nicola Gaughan I lovingly typed…Celebrities and designers help raise funds for the Find Your Feet charity
Twitter: iconiccreative
I am shocked to say the least. Overture Interactive are a big big ad agency, and I can only think it was Ewelina’s last day – if it wasn’t then it soon will be.
Twitter: catcreativem
Perhaps this is a whole new genre of “antimarketing….” After all, the sheer, laughably awful nature of her second email has got a whole bunch of us on here talking about her and her business. However I don’t think her efforts will result in many sales….definitely needs to go into her Must Try Harder file…
Suzan St Maur I lovingly typed…Why you need to reMAMBA your marketing articulation
Twitter: SuzanStMaur
Unbelievable! I’d like to point out that as a reader of birds on the blog (like most of the readers)
1) I’m not thick
2) I have never been to a bingo hall in my life
Twitter: Heathertowns
There really is such a thing as bad publicity. I thought all companies realised this. I suspect they’ll see a surge in site visits few orders. Well done in alienating half the population.
Twitter: PaulaGreenJones
I don’t think ‘Overture Interactive’ are anything much, perhaps people are thinking of the old Overture PPC? I googled them and found this site – http://www.internetbingoblog.com/play-free-bingo/ – an online bingo outfit which is apparently part of http://www.overtureseo.com/an anonymous looking outfit based allegedly in Philadelphia. I expect ‘Ewelina’ is a home worker on commission only, probably not even a woman and certainly not bothered about p-ing off a few ‘prospects’.
Robin Houghton I lovingly typed…How much time do you spend thinking about the future of your business?
Twitter: robinhoughton
Nearly spat my tea out! They cannot be serious!? Surely such an outrageous, ignorant and patronising comment must be a wind-up?
Clare Evans I lovingly typed…Live To Work Or Work To Live?
Twitter: clareevans
Speechless. Period.
(but had to add this as WP told me off for not saying more!)
Steve Hall I lovingly typed…Club Aikido Fuengirola
Twitter: thisisspain
Well done for exposing this company, it is incredible that this sort of thing can be put into print. She has quite obviously never read anything on the Birds website.
Rosanne I lovingly typed…Waxx Underwear
Twitter: rosalingerie
Oh dear – what a dim bulb we have in Ewelina…my guess is that this is the first job and then she will have a holiday of an enforced nature…
Twitter: Simon1709
Truly awful!! How can anyone think that terrible comment would gain advertising? It’s insulting to anyone.
Does she not realise how this will be posted everywhere…how much damage this will cause?
Sometimes I am just left speechless at some peoples attitudes!
Thanks sarah for sharing.
Anita Hunt I lovingly typed…Snowdrop Birthday card
Twitter: NitaJoyDesigns
I can’t believe someone could be that rude and disgusting.
Aparently they didn’t realise that hundreds of women would see this and realise how unprofessional they are!
Leigh Quantrill I lovingly typed…SPECIAL OFFER: Directory submissions for your business & website
Twitter: leighquantrill
- What can I add?
Well, I’m off to Bingo tonight maybe I’ll get lucky
BTW Ewelina if you are looking for a job shortly, can I give you some tips?
I think you might need them.
Lynn Tulip I lovingly typed…Redundant, what next?
Twitter: LynnTulip
How utterly dreadful! Do you think from the affiliate code above that they are representing shareasale.com – if so perhaps the affiliate network share a sale needs to look VERY carefully at the tactics used by their representatives?
Twitter: clairejarrett
I read:
“We are of the opinion that women thick enough to read your mundane blog posts would surely love bingo. Your dimwit readership and our exciting bingo games would be a perfect match”
…and I really thought I’d missed a whole load of time, that it was actually April 1st and you were winding us up!!!
If this is the real thing and there is a Ewelina at this company (about which there is surprisingly little information available via Google), I can only guess that she perhaps wasn’t 100% sober when she sent the email?
The “mundane” and “dimwit” adjectives are so insulting, such a slap in the face, they’re difficult to credit as believable, even from a moron such as this!
Twitter: Linda_Mattacks
Just for chuckles, I did some googling and came up with a youtube video uploaded by “overtureinteractive.” I forced myself to watch the whole thing (about 2.5 minutes).
View it to get a sense of the “excitement” the company’s offerings generate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM0oYHbOIBM
Mary Weaver, CSCS I lovingly typed…Why I hate the ‘clean eating’ concept
Twitter: themusclediva
sitting here – mouth wide open – shocked
dear me, that woman hasn.t understood how to run a business, how to communicate properly and not to talk about social media, and women’s power.
well done to show her the door!
helen bogun I lovingly typed…Sharing and caring – what Web 2.0 is about
Twitter: HelzDesign
If it weren’t so fundamentally serious, I’d have said it was a deliberate wind up.
Ade I lovingly typed…Divorce and Inheritance Planning
Twitter: inheritance_ade
I Wonder if this person does exist, the name Ewelina sounds made up. I also wonder whether this was a publicity stunt on her part! Either way I agree she does need a copy of HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE
ethnicsupplies I lovingly typed…In conversation with business Women at #VIA12
Twitter: ethnicsupplies
How rude to women all over! bingo adverts are inane and an insult to women!
Twitter: sarupashah
I would just add a comment such as ‘Get a Life’. I just laughed at the email exchange. Some people just don’t get it. The sharing and of us modern gals doing things in a more modern way. …… Mind you, where I live, Bingo might be a recreational treat. I live in rural England with not a lot to do …. perhaps not eh?
Twitter: JackieDunnagain
I’ve been thinking about her comment ever since I read it – it’s like she hasn’t looked at the articles on the site. I’ll have to find other outlets for my gambling urges now…
Sue I lovingly typed…Solar farms – what do you know about them? Nothing?
Wow – how utterly rude and obnoxious!
I don’t think anyone here is boring or mundane, far from it. Sarah your reply was a modicum of civility in comparison, far nicer than I would have been.
smh
sally I lovingly typed…Is ARN-509 (Aragon) potentially better than MDV-3100 (Medivation) in advanced prostate cancer?
Twitter: maverickny
I thought this was a joke. I’ve had the cold call emails offering seo services or links to my site. But OMG, I take it the person sending the email is wanting a new job or it was a for a bet or something.
It was so funny I had to read it out to my husband (much to his disgust as I was disturbing topgear) but even he appreciated the humor
Thanks for cheering up my cold evening.
Pippa I lovingly typed…Use Your Titles To Draw a Crowd
Twitter: pippasweb