Outdoor Media Centre has organised a campaign for charity missing people, the launch of which will be the first official role for its new ambassador Kate McCann.
The campaign, produced by Grand Visual, will see a number of billboards publicise missing people from across the UK, through £1m worth of advertising space donated by the outdoor industry, aiming to reach over 10m adults over the summer.
Using Grand Visual’s ‘OpenLoop’ technology, staff and volunteers will be able to update appeals instantly to billboards, to highlight details of the latest high risk individuals.
The campaign will run on digital billboards across London, Birmingham, Manchester and London, at rail and underground networks, as well as high streets and shopping centres, featuring a dedicated phone number to call if there is a sighting.
Kate McCann said: “When your child goes missing you want the whole world to stop and join the search. Missing People, the Outdoor Media Centre and its members are providing an unprecedented opportunity to help safely reconnect missing children.
“More than 250,000 people are reported missing each year in the UK – worryingly they could fill the Olympic Stadium three times over. Thankfully, campaigns like this can play a vital part in the search. In May, two youngsters featured in the charity’s ‘Big Tweet for Missing Children’ were found safely.
“The search for Madeleine continues and I am delighted to lend my support as an Ambassador to this practical solution that gives hope to families like mine,” she added.
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How lacking in good judgement Missing People to have employed Kate McCann as ambassador. So many more fitting persons than this mum who abandoned her own children on five nights in an unlocked apartment in a foreign country.
The night the child was reported as missing the little girl had earlier told her mummy and daddy that she and one of her two year old siblings had been crying upset when alone the previous evening.
Mr.and Mrs. McCann's resolution to this? To abandon them once more, inflict the same suffering as previously.
An elderly lady, a witness, living above this apartment told police Madeleine had cried for 75 minutes on another evening.
How could anyone, firstly abandon 3 such young children in this heinous way, and further knowing the pain, upset and suffering this has caused their children - do exactly the same again?
Leaving 3 children all under the age of 4 years repeatedly night after night in such vulnerable circumstances, it was only a matter of time before a tragedy of some description or another befell one or all three of these tots.
The investigating police say that evidence points to the child having died in that apartment. There is no change to their findings thus far.
The case is shelved, not closed. And should it re-open there is every chance Mr. and Mrs. McCann will be once more be re-instated as official suspects. At the moment they remain unofficially as persons of interest to this case.
Police investigating did not receive full co-operation from the McCann party. Kate McCann stating that an officer searching for her child was a 'Fucking Tosser' in her book AN account (I would have thought there could be but one account) of the events of that night the child vanished without trace, she also stated that the first officers on the scene reminded her of Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee.
Is this what the parents of a child who had only supposedly just disappeared be thinking? It shows the complete and utter lack of respect she had for police officers who who had responded to the McCann 'call' for assistance, and her bizarre lack of concern for young Madeleine at that time.
The elderly lady also had offered help on that night. She too was met with the same ignorance by Kate McCann as the police officers.
This is all documented in 'Madeleine' penned by Kate McCann.
This appointment of Kate McCann in such a role quite beggars belief.
As we can see thus far, it is now more about Kate McCann than those missing persons who desperately need help.
What was this organisation thinking?
Kate McCann is already the director of the Madeleine Fund their own private Fund which seeks donations to search for Madeleine as are her husband and friends. It is not a Charity but a private company.
This company gave to a fraudster almost £500,000 of the monies donated, supposedly to search for Madeleine. He was at the time of being in the McCanns employ, wanted by the F.B.I. He is now in custody.
How could the McCanns and the formidable legal team they have behind them not have known who they had employed?
Another £1/2m was given to Metodo 3 another dodgy PI company who also failed to find anything at all with regards missing Madeleine. And in the past 3 years they have employed yet another PI, and similarly at huge cost, he has also failed to come up with a shred of evidence to prove that abduction took place.
Their legal actions raised against a former Portuguese detective have also failed. At great cost to the Madeleine Fund which the public donate to?
One struggles to imagine that Missing People are not aware of the background to the McCann case, the still mystery which surrounds how this child could possibly have been abducted and the Madeleine Fund too which they clearly must know appears not to have been shall we say wisely managed. Yet in their "wisdom" they chose Kate McCann above what must be many many more suitable and respected persons.
One has to ask who decided on this appointment, not who rubber stamped it, who encouraged it? Perhaps someone in the background?
I would hate to think that Missing Persons bowed to pressure as did our PM, according to Rebekah Brooks at the Levenson Inquiry. When Brooks was asked directly by Levenson how she would describe the threats on our Government to do the McCann bidding, she declared - 'persuasion.'
This appointment, fails all missing persons, vulnerable children still in the hands of those who harm them. Sends out completely the wrong message.
For those youngsters who have run away from home due to abuse by their parents close family friends, they will see Kate McCann the mother who abandoned her children, who inflicted quite unnecessary suffering on these small children, as no better than their own abusers, as the enemy.
We don't know if the McCann couple were directly responsible for this child's disappearance, what we do know for sure is that they treated their children appallingly. No dressing up of the lack of protection and care these kiddies were afforded by their parents will ever excuse it. For the McCann couple, two medical professionals to state they thought it was safe to leave them is more than a little incredulous, unbelievable in fact.
As they say if it sounds like a lie, it generally is!
How Missing People reached this decision and on what merit Kate McCann was instated, should be explained to those who they expect to assist their Charity - the public.
They say there is no such thing as bad publicity. This is one time when we can safely say this is not the case.
This appointment has already damaged this organisation.
Kate McCann should have, if this appointment was not engineered, though I rather suspect it was, thanked Missing Persons for their offer but declined.
Announcing at the the eleventh hour before this launch, clearly demonstrates that Missing People were very much aware that this was more than a controversial appointment, that there would be a backlash.
A.Miller
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Aside from the decision for the figure head, I think this is a great use of billboard technology, hopefully they can put up real time updates as will to keep people informed.
Maybe even tie it up to a website dedicated to the subject for people to follow and help. Get social media involved as well to boost the reach.
There are so many good uses for technology and we just don't push it enough!
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@pharo12545
@ 21
Absolutely agree in respect of the technology and use of.
The choice of 'figure head' for this particular campaign/launch has however detracted in a huge way from the more important issue -the missing people, the technology which could help find them.
A gross lack of judgement on both a business and human level.
A.Miller
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I am glad that the billboard campaign is in action and I hope it achieves its objective to find children and all adults who are on the long term missing list. I hope that their families will get their loved ones back or at least find out what happened to them.
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Technology is a powerful tool and it can be used to do a bit of good and I hope it does in this campaign.
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I think it is a good idea to have a billboard campaign highlighting missing people. I hope it will help the families of missing people.
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I definitely think its a terrific piece of technology. I have just been informed by Missing People that my son Matt, who has been missing since 9th April 2010 will be appearing on the billboards from 24th December 2012 until 6th January 2013. I am hoping against hope that someone he is with will recognise him and let me know he is safe and well. I can be emailed directly at greensindoors@aol.com or through our Facebook page "continuing the search for Matthew Green". We have already had hoax emails so please get in touch only if your message is genuine, its amazing how some people feed off others misery. Please look out for him. Pauline (his heart broken mum) x
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