A Boston advertising executive has developed a plan to send pro-life ads to young women’s cell phones while they are in abortion clinics through the use of mobile surveillance technology.
Copley Advertising CEO John Flynn realized that this technology can be helpful in determining which women are at risk of getting an abortion, though the technology is typically used to determine what ads should be displayed on an individual’s cell phone. The technology, known as “geo-fencing,” sends anti-abortion ads to a women’s phone after she has entered a clinic. These ads represent Bethany Christian Services or RealOptions, promising women that they have options if they are pregnant and encouraging them to take the time to explore them all.
Over the past several months, Flynn has targeted over 140 abortion clinics with the technology, working for Bethany Christian Services, the largest adoption agency in the United States, and RealOptions, which is a California-based network of crisis pregnancy centers. His program for Bethany spans 5 cities: Columbus, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Richmond, Virginia; St. Louis, Missouri; and New York City.
Flynn told Live Action News, “We are very excited to bring our mobile marketing capabilities to the pro-life community.”
Geo-fencing demonstrates the progression of digital marketing, in which marketers can tailor their ads to specific groups of consumers, based on those consumers’ online activity.
Brian Solis, a digital marketing expert, told Rewire that this practice is “incredibly unethical and creepy,” a view that is supported by many pro-choice activists.
But why? It is the same technology that has produced tailored ads in recent years for items such as shoes or watches. The idea of tracking internet activity is not a new concept. It appears as though it is suddenly “unethical and creepy” because it threatens the liberal agenda.
