LOWELL SUN ADS.... MADE IN INDIA?

Lowell, MA - Recently we discovered that our local newspaper, the struggling Lowell Sun, outsources all those little (and big) ads to India. We got a chance to speak to the director of advertising over this and told him that we at Design 4 Lowell are building a powerful, new, creative network that could help. Or he could hire an in house designer to do them. Hey, even The Eagle Tribune has a design team for that. 

No they said. They cannot since they are part of a larger company that outsources all design jobs for all their newspapers. That's nice, but not a very good excuse. At the end of the day, big businesses, and especially one that so desperately needs the community, have a responsibility to serve. Why should a community care about a business that doesn't care about them? Lowell has an amazing art community and really, and we mean really talented pool of designers. 

Recently, we ran into an illustrator/ graphic designer, a gentle older fellow who was doing caricature portraits just outside of Brew'd Awakening on Market Street. "My job is now in India" he said when we asked what else he did (Yes, we got our portrait done!) Seeing our confused expressions, he explained that he had been laid off not too long ago when The Sun made their big plans to outsource the entire design department. He now teaches graphic design at MCC and is a street artist with a wonderful studio at 122 Western Avenue, also our world headquarters!

Anyways, we decided to start a campaign to bring back the design jobs we lost. Here is their contact page. Call or email everyone. Anyone. Until they listen. Because our local businesses deserve better. 

*Please note the ideas of this post are not reflective of any members of our creative network, partners, or shops.