Morrisons has incurred the wrath of an entire city after a callout was issued for actors with northern accents to feature in a campaign for the supermarket specifying that “nobody from Liverpool” should apply.
The controversial requirement featured in an advert on the Casting Networks International website, used by actors looking for work. Published last week, it asked for actors with “northern” accents for a publicity campaign fronted by “proper working-class people”.
The advert read: “These films will focus largely on people’s facial expressions. Therefore, it’s vital that their faces have character – something interesting and captivating that will make the film watchable.
“But nothing glaringly obvious, and we don’t want caricatures. We want quirks: freckles, bushy eyebrows, etc. They should all be warm and likeable. They should be proper working-class people, but not at all like the characters from Benefits Street. They should not sound or look posh, and we should skew towards northern accents.”
It concluded: “And nobody from Liverpool, please.”
Morrisons, which has three stores in the city, apologised for the advert but said it was not responsible for imposing a ban on scouse accents.
“We are angry and we apologise that a third party has published a statement using our name without our knowledge,” a spokesman said. “Everyone is welcome at Morrisons and we work really hard to ensure our marketing represents the whole of the nation.”
Despite the apology, the company faced a torrent of abuse on Twitter.
@Morrisons want "proper working class people" for their advert just nobody from Liverpool. @asda here I come! pic.twitter.com/fAaT1SG7HZ
— Danielle Brennan (@DanielleBrenzie) March 25, 2016
@Morrisons How disgraceful you discriminate against Liverpool people !!never again will our family spend another penny at morrisions !!!!!
— Rob Davidson (@CRobd200) March 25, 2016
Hi @Morrisons. The people of Liverpool will forgive and forget this mishap on the condition you cast me in said ad with a £15k buyout. Xx
— Adam McCoy (@AdamJamesMcCoy) March 25, 2016
Casting Networks International’s chief executive, Glen Ward, issued a statement saying that the company was not responsible for the advert’s content.
“On behalf of everyone at Casting Networks, I apologise unreservedly for the unverified posting that appeared recently on our public billboard for a supermarket commercial,” he said.
“Casting Networks is a software service utilised by casting directors for posting jobs for actors. We are not the authors of these postings, nor are we an agency. The unfortunate views expressed in this instance are not what CNI stands for. We are a responsible organisation and we take a very dim view of this matter.
“Upon being made aware of the content of this particular job posting, we immediately withdrew it from our site and alerted the casting director responsible so that they can inform their clients accordingly.
“Again, we apologise for the upset that this post has undoubtedly caused, and as someone who lived for many happy years among the magnificent people of Liverpool, I am personally disappointed in the most unfortunate sentiments that were expressed by the third parties.”
