Safeway Ad Award Contrasts Litigation By Daniel S. Levin

SAN FRANCISCO - An ad campaign developed by McCann-Erickson here for Safeway, Inc. was named a finalist in an award show that honors positive portrayals of

McCann’s entry joins Ketchum’s Bank of America campaign and Gardner Communications’ Education Now Babies Later (ENABL) ads for the state of California in the contest for the Leading Change in Advertising Awards sponsored by the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of Women in Communications.
The Safeway spots, featuring single moms, working parents and traditional families, celebrate women as everyday heroes and as the glue that holds their families together.
But while Safeway may honor women in its ads, its treatment of women in the workplace has come under scrutiny.
The Oakland, Calif.-based grocer is the subject of a pending class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of California for alleged sexual discrimination against its female employees in the area of job promotions. Safeway said it does not comment on pending litigation.
Fran Zone, president of Zone Communication in Sausalito, Calif. and chairperson of WICI said the Leading Change advertising award is not designed to endorse a corporation’s behavior.
‘In the advertising award we’re looking at what people see. It’s not an award for running a company or management,’ said Zone. ‘It’s an external award for the image they’re putting out for women.’
A winner will be named this week.
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