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SALT LAKE CITY — The owner of a Utah company accused of sending a dangerous message to families with young children will be pulling a controversial ad and apologizing, he said.
A Utah family is upset about the ad from Any Hour Services that has been circulating in mailers. It features a toddler next to a toilet and holding a rubber ducky. The slogan says: “No job too small, we fix it all.”
Children playing around toilets in real life is a real concern to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which has warned against the practice.
The Commission reports close to 20 kids died in toilets from 1996 to 2010.
Nineteen years ago in Utah, Lark Martinez's toddler died that way.
Her 14-month-old son, Tregory, leaned over the toilet bowl too far, fell in and couldn't pull himself out. He suffered massive brain damage and eventually died.
When Martinez called Any Hour to voice her concerns, she said didn't get a solid answer about the ad. But later Wednesday morning, representatives with Any Hour Services said they never imagined their ad would be controversial.
"The intention was to have it be relatable in a funny way and for people to know we have had this happen a lot," said Any Hour representative, Jessie Walker.
Walker's son, Abram, was the child featured in the ad and was 1 years old when the picture was taken. She said Any Hour Services receives a lot of calls from parents with clogged toilets after a baby flushed something down it, which is why they used the picture. She said no one had any intention of seeming calloused when they told the family the picture was relatable.
Any Hour Services owner Wyatt Hepworth said he had a chance to speak with the Martinez family to send his condolences and he also issued the following statement:
"Vince and Lark Martinez had a tragic experience 19 years ago and we are saddened that our advertisement reminded them of their tragedy. As the owner of Any Hour Electric, Plumbing, Heating and Air, I will be calling them to apologize and to let them know that we will be pulling the ads. We did not know that we could hurt feelings over the ad piece. We feel very badly for the loss of this family. I will personally call them today."
Wyatt told KSL he had tried to call repeatedly Tuesday night to offer his side of the story. When KSL tracked back through communications it was discovered that he had been given the incorrect number for the KSL newsroom. But he said that he was glad to be able to apologize to the Wyatt family.
"[Lark Martinez] was really friendly and thanked me for calling," Wyatt said. "They seem like a really nice family. I believe she knew that we were sincere."
