BT ad nearly goes belly up

The earth just didn’t stop moving for advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather Direct while shooting British Telecom’s new press advertisement.

The ad features a heavily pregnant woman lying in a bath, closing in on her belly rising up out of the water.

Problem was, the baby kept moving and so did the water. “It was a real problem to keep it still,” says an informant.

“The belly represents an island, showing how pregnant women may feel isolated,” says O&M account director Helen Richards. The ad publicises the BT discount scheme Friends and Family.

The waters eventually calmed and the photo was shot. Perhaps photographer Tony May – father of the unborn – knew some magic incantation. Or was it art director Jason King, whose son was born as the ad was launched this week?