Here's How it Went Down..

Thanks for all the advise and comments! It's god to know I'm not completely crazy (or that we are all perhaps crazy together???) and had some great support and feedback in this matter. Anyway, the store owner finally called me back this evening and here's how it went down...

ME: HI! I don’t know if you received the email I sent to you about 4-5 hours ago, but I have a friend who lives in the area near your store who receives your promotional emails. Imagine her surprise when she received your current 10% off coupon and on your advertisement was a photo of my of my children and I happen to live out of state and have never been in your store.

SO (store owner): Umm, what photo are you talking about? What ad are you talking about?

ME: The current 10% coupon that was just emailed to your customers this morning.

SO: OHHH. That picture?

ME: Yes. THAT picture happens to be a personal photo of mine of my children that I took. Would you please tell me how and where you found that photo?

SO: Umm, I'm not really sure. I can’t remember. Maybe the internet? I don’t actually know…

ME: Well, as a business owner, you should know better. You should also know that you can not print any photo of any child under the age of 18 without the written consent of that child’s parent or guardian. In fact you can’t use any photo PERIOD, without giving credit to the photographer or source, or providing compensation as well.

SO: I just thought it was anonymous.

ME: ANONYMOUS? Uh, are you a mother by any chance?

SO: Yes. Yes I am.

ME: Then you should know that NO CHILD is anonymous.

I mean, I realize it is just a picture of their backs, but you should consider if that was a personal photo of yours of your children that ended up on an advertisement and how that would make you feel. As a mother my most important job is to protect my children and all of their interests. And now I have to wonder what other photo’s of my children are accessible and floating around that I don’t know about.

SO: You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking. I should have known better. This is a big lesson for me, too. I just thought it was anonymous and wasn’t really anybody

ME: Again, they are not anonymous; they are my children.

Have you used this photo for anything else at all? In any other ad’s???

SO: No. Only this one…In the future I will make sure I’m really careful. I am so sorry it will never happen again.

ME: Great. I am happy to hear that. If you would please remove the photo and not use it for anything in the future, I would appreciate it. Maybe it would be a good idea for you to use your own children for your advertising needs.

SO: You’re right. What was I thinking? This has been a big lesson for me.

ME: Okay well I’m happy to hear that. Just be careful going forward because someone else might not have been as nice as me and would suing you for using a photo of their very minor children.

SO: You’re right. I’m sorry. Thank you for calling. I won’t use it again.

ME: Thanks; Take care.

So ladies, that's all she wrote. I could tell by the sound of her voice she felt badly and didn't do it on purpose, so I didn't want to ask for compesation or scare her with lawyer talk. But she needed to know she was VERY wrong and I could tell on the phone she was scared and learned her lesson. Now, i think it's time for this mom to take off her cape for the day and settle in the for an (hopefully) uneventfull evening at home with the mini's.