Wells Fargo Ad Discourages Teens from Careers in the Arts

Thoughtless Oversight or Intentional?

Last week a photo of a Wells Fargo ad popped up all over social media. In it is pictured two pamphlets for Teen Day, which takes place September 17, 2016. Each pamphlet shows a teen in what appears to be a science lab conducting experiments. One reads, “A ballerina yesterday. An engineer today,” and the other, “An actor yesterday. A botanist today.” Both are followed by, “Let’s get them ready for tomorrow.” Non-artists as well as artists of every sort began a backlash frenzy on Twitter and Facebook. Why?

Wells Fargo ad for Teen Day, September 17, 2016

According to most, the Wells Fargo ad implies that science careers are more valuable and more serious than careers in the arts. “Let’s get them ready for…” what? A “REAL” career? BuzzFeed posted a whole slew of Twitter comments on the ad, which range from incredulity to just plain pissed off. One person even posted a video of money being withdrawn as she supposedly closed her Wells Fargo account. Performer and producer, Jim Caruso also tweeted that it was a “thoughtless ad” and he’d be switching to Chase. Actor, singer, dancer, storyteller, Jacob Haren also tweeted that he’d be switching to a bank that supports the arts.

Wells Fargo’s Response

Wells Fargo did not immediately respond to the backlash, perhaps taking some time to organize their thoughts and assessing how best to put out this fire. They eventually posted an apology stating that they are indeed very committed to the arts and the ad campaign fell short of celebrating all aspirations of young people, which was their intent. Their apology finished by stating “Last year, Wells Fargo’s support of the arts, culture, and education totaled $93 million.”

Wells Fargo apology via Twitter

Maybe the message the Wells Fargo ad ultimately made was not really what they intended. But, seriously? How else can that be taken? Having had certain jobs where ads go to print for mass distribution, I know how many people have their hands on ad artwork at any given time and how many times it gets edited, especially on a corporate level. Of all those people, nobody questioned it? If anyone, the graphic designer, at the very least?

Personally, I did get my feathers a bit ruffled with the ad. After reading it several times, I couldn’t see how else I was supposed to interpret what it said. Do I think it was thoughtless? Yes, in the sense that nobody thought to notice that it was disparaging to those of us in the arts. Do I think it was intentionally meant to discourage teens from choosing careers in the arts? The part of me that wants to give the benefit of doubt, says no, it wasn’t intentional. But then again…how can you read that any other way? What do you think? Was the Wells Fargo ad offensive? Was it thoughtless? An oversight? A big giant oopsie? Comment below and let us know what you think.

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