14/08/2008
'Sweet Home Birmingham', Council Admits Leaflet Blunder
Birmingham City Council has admitted a blunder by sending out recycling leaflets showing a US skyline instead of a Birmingham one.
Around 720,000 pamphlets praising Brummies for their recycling were sent across the city costing £15,000.
The message which read 'Thank You Birmingham' above an image of the Alabama skyline, was sent to 350,000 homes across the city.
The leaflets shows downtown Birmingham, Alabama instead of landmarks such as the Rotunda and the new Selfridges building.
The council initially tried to cover-up the mistake by saying the image was a "generic skyline" but later admitted the error.
A spokesman for Birmingham City Council said: "Birmingham is immensely proud of its recycling record and this leaflet has helped to get the recycling message across to thousands of our enthusiastic citizens over the last 15 months.
"We accept the wrong photo was used, but the text and detail contained in the leaflet is wholly correct which is the most important message," he said.
The Birmingham News, a newspaper based in the American city, referred to the mix up on one of its blogs.
One of the comments by a website visitor 'Cutoff' said: "It does look like Birmingham England's recycling effort is working. They are even recycling photographs."
Editor of a local website dedicated to Birmingham in the US, Andre Natta, believe there is a "strong basis" for a relationship, "formal or otherwise" between the two cities.
"Our site receives some steady traffic from the UK and has several folks subscribe to our newsletter who seem to have interest in what's going on over here.
"An even stronger relationship would definitely help us recognise our cities a little better," he said.
In January, West Midland's Conservative MEPs made the same mistake on their website.
(DS)
Around 720,000 pamphlets praising Brummies for their recycling were sent across the city costing £15,000.
The message which read 'Thank You Birmingham' above an image of the Alabama skyline, was sent to 350,000 homes across the city.
The leaflets shows downtown Birmingham, Alabama instead of landmarks such as the Rotunda and the new Selfridges building.
The council initially tried to cover-up the mistake by saying the image was a "generic skyline" but later admitted the error.
A spokesman for Birmingham City Council said: "Birmingham is immensely proud of its recycling record and this leaflet has helped to get the recycling message across to thousands of our enthusiastic citizens over the last 15 months.
"We accept the wrong photo was used, but the text and detail contained in the leaflet is wholly correct which is the most important message," he said.
The Birmingham News, a newspaper based in the American city, referred to the mix up on one of its blogs.
One of the comments by a website visitor 'Cutoff' said: "It does look like Birmingham England's recycling effort is working. They are even recycling photographs."
Editor of a local website dedicated to Birmingham in the US, Andre Natta, believe there is a "strong basis" for a relationship, "formal or otherwise" between the two cities.
"Our site receives some steady traffic from the UK and has several folks subscribe to our newsletter who seem to have interest in what's going on over here.
"An even stronger relationship would definitely help us recognise our cities a little better," he said.
In January, West Midland's Conservative MEPs made the same mistake on their website.
(DS)
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