Desperate Economy? Mom Auctions Her Own Baby's Name to Advertiser for $5000
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Early last week, a pregnant mother sold the naming rights of her unborn infant to an advertiser for $5000. In what threatens to become the latest advertising trend, the mother-to-be signed a contract with an online parenting startup called Belly Ballot, to allow the website and its advertisers to pick the baby's name in exchange for cash.
Belly Ballot, a parenting website that claims to make baby name decisions more fun by making the process social, initially launched a contest on their blog to find a mother willing to relinquish her naming rights for the prize money. The "winner" would then allow the startup to host a nationwide ballot where people around the country could vote for their favorites. The winning applicant ended up being a Los Angeles woman by the name of Natasha Hill, who announced it on her facebook here.
The story was uncovered by members of The Rosa Cee Community, a collective of responsible Christian citizens advocating for traditional parenting and child welfare. "This is irresponsible parenting, plain and simple," said Rosa Cee spokesperson and cofounder Kasey Candela. "A baby's name isn't like a baseball stadium, up for the highest bidder. Certain elements of our family and children must be off limits to advertisers for capitalistic opportunity. If it becomes socially acceptable to commercialize your children even in difficult economic times as these, where will it stop?" Although no advertisers were explicitly identified, the contest mentioned they would be responsible for choosing the names.
Rosa Cee also interviewed Belly Ballot's cofounder Lacey Moler, who didn't deny the implications of the contest, but said, "This is a misunderstanding of what we are trying to achieve. This is supposed to be a fun contest to raise awareness of growing social baby naming trends which thousands of expecting parents have participated in on our site. We have no intention of violating traditional family values."
Rosa Cee is asking that the company and its advertisers cancel the program and are planning a boycott of any advertiser who sponsors the child's name. "Responsible parents need to make a stand and stop these shameful precedents," continued Kasey. "Despite the economic downturn, we need not compromise our values."
To get involved or learn more about the boycott, please visit http://RosaCee.org or email [email protected].
Relevant Links
http://bellyballot.com
http://babynames.net/blog/apply-to-be-belly-ballots-national-belly-branding-winner-and-get-5000/
http://babynames.net/blog/woohoo-belly-ballots-national-belly-branding-contest-winner-is/
Contact:
Kasey Candela
[email protected]
SOURCE Rosa Cee Community
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