Missing person posters to go ahead despite teenager coming home
NSW Police and the Outdoor Media Association will on Sunday launch an advertising campaign searching for a missing girl who has already been found.
The outdoor advertising campaign for National Missing Persons week features a poster featuring Bethany Neville, who went missing in March, and Neil Hinkley, who has been missing since late last year.
But it today emerged that the missing 14-year-old girl has been reunited with her parents.
The news came too late for the posters to be reprinted, and they will go up as planned on Sunday across NSW. Digital billboard will be updated.
“We are so happy to hear this great news and to learn that Bethany is safe and well,” said Charmaine Moldrich, CEO of the Outdoor Media Association in a statement.
“A significant portion of this year’s donated advertising space is digital – this means we have been able to update the artwork very quickly to promote the great news that Bethany has been found,” said Moldrich.
A spokeswoman for the OMA told Mumbrella that while the digital creative would be changed to indicate Neville has been found they were still “enquiring about static inventory and if this can be updated”.
The campaign will be featured on JCDecaux citylights boards, ROVA taxi backs, plus digital posters in retail precincts, cafes, unis and train stations.
The OMA told Mumbrella that the decision to feature Neville was made by NSW police not by them. A spokeswoman for NSW police said that Neville and her family has agreed to remain in the campaign after being found.
“The posters promote National Missing Persons Week they aren’t just about Bethany and trying to get the community to look for her, its much bigger than that,” said a NSW police spokeswoman.
“Her family undertook the posters and authorised her being on the posters and they are one who said it’s ok if she’s found and her image is still on there — that was a proviso of her being on the posters — and it getting so much coverage which they were so, so grateful about,” she said.
NSW Police confirmed they had gone back to the family to inform them of the upcoming campaign. “We are in very close contact,” said the NSW police spokeswoman. “They are going to be doing more (media) coverage, for example the Wanted program, and also media in the Lake Illawarra area. They are very very excited by it.”
More than 35,000 people are reported missing each year in Australia. National Missing Persons week aims to highlight the toll it can take on family and friends.
“This is promoting Missing Persons week which is coming up on Sunday and with the digital posters we are getting located or found put onto them and changing them where we can.”
“In the end this is still meeting our objective of getting out the message about Missing Persons Week.”
The OMA campaign features inventory donated by members of the association.
UPDATE: This afternoon Charmaine Moldrich, CEO of the Outdoor Media Association confirmed: “We are printing ‘located’ stickers for the static formats and the digital formats have also been updated with this message. Excellent news that the fourteen year old Bethany has been re-united with her parents.”
Nic Christensen
Sounds like they could slap some stickers saying “FOUND” over these.
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Or they could digitally print stickers of other missing people to put over her and not waste the media that has been donated to them.
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Sounds like Bethany was also “MISSING” from the campaign strategy meeting.
I like Rebecca’s solution – simple and elegant
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Yes, we are printing LOCATED stickers for the static formats and the digital formats have also been updated with this message. Excellent news that the fourteen year old Bethany has been re-united with her parents.
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Well done.
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Good job Charmaine (genuinely)
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What a waste of valuable space, she is found which is great, get over your ego and put a picture up of someone else we should find
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