A small real estate firm in Washington State decided to try out a new direct mail campaign this week – attempting to pit part-time agents against full-time professionals. While this doesn’t sound any more offensive than regular advertising, the ad shows a part-time agent (a stressed looking mother surrounded by her kids) held in comparison to two full-time agents (two men in suits). The tag line asks potential customers: "Who would you rather represent you?" The sexist ad from Costello and Costello Real Estate Group caused anger amongst the local communities, who pointed to the fact that they’d rather not be represented by a firm which promotes general sexism. Responding to the outrage sparked by the ad on Twitter and Facebook, Costello and Costello released an apology on Facebook, reading: ‘The Costello Team would like to apologize for our last marketing piece and we take full responsibility for it. We have received a flood of emotionally charged messages and phones calls, and we thank you for your responses. As sons of a single working mother and agents trying to build a family business, these reactions were difficult and important for us to hear. There are thousands of professional agents working in our area who are also dedicated mothers, including several members of our team. Our original hope with this message was to show the value of having a full-time agent in a competitive market, but we completely failed. We have the upmost respect for moms and working mothers, and we know that the job of a mother is far more demanding than what we do as real estate professionals. Again, we are truly sorry. It was not representative of the company we wish to be.’ H/T Mashable