Case Report ISSUES RAISED

Transcription

1 Case Report 1 Case Number 0240/15 2 Advertiser Department of Health and Ageing 3 Product Community Awareness 4 Type of Advertisement / media Internet 5 Date of Determination 10/06/ DETERMINATION Dismissed ISSUES RAISED Violence Causes alarm and distress to Children Violence Violence Health and Safety Within prevailing Community Standards DESCRIPTION OF THE ADVERTISEMENT The television and online advertisements depict the serious and highly negative outcomes of using ice across a range of scenarios. These include: a) Loss of sleep: A young man in an office is struggling to concentrate and loses his temper with a colleague. b) Aggression: A mother and son are arguing in the kitchen after he takes money from her wallet. He knocks his mother to the ground as a young girl, who could be his daughter, looks on. c) Formication: A girl is sitting in her room picking at her arm with a bobby pin. d) Psychosis: A young man is escorted by police into the emergency department of a regional hospital. He snaps and attacks the orderly and police. Security run to help and the man is wrestled to the floor. THE COMPLAINT A sample of comments which the complainant/s made regarding this advertisement included the following: The time that these advertisements are being shown. My 3 year old child was watching an educational youtube video about space when this advertisement came up of a lady bleeding, scratching her skin and blood running out of her eyes. Needless to say the child is having

2 difficulty sleeping tonight. This was played before a Youtube video that is targeted at kids (it's a kids channel) at a time of day when kids would be up (between 6pm and 7pm). Although I was supervising my kids, I didn't know what the ad was until too late. My 6 and 8 year olds were very upset, and later at bed time my 6 year old was distraught remembering it. It should not be played at this time, or on this Youtube channel. The as appears to be depicting self harm. A depiction of self harm can act as a trigger. THE ADVERTISER S RESPONSE Comments which the advertiser made in response to the complainant/s regarding this advertisement include the following: The Australian Government believes that the National Drugs Campaign advertising material is consistent with the AANA Code of Ethics, particularly in relation to Section 2. In developing this campaign, due care has been taken to present the facts in a responsible and appropriate manner, having regard to the target audiences nationally for whom the advertising is directed. The target audiences include young people aged who are beginning to be exposed to illicit drugs and parents of year olds, as well as year olds who are at greater risk of using ice 2.3 Violence The development of the campaign was based on current evidence and best practice in relation to reaching parents and young people with an awareness raising message. The depiction of the consequences of using methamphetamine ( ice ) in each of the online advertisements is a realistic portrayal, intended to increase awareness and understanding of the harmful effects of ice use. The Department s principal medical adviser for Population Health Division (a working Emergency Department doctor) and Dr Priestley (who appears in the TVC) provided advice throughout the development of the creative material. The content was also verified by the Department s Drug Strategy Branch. Accuracy and credibility of specific scenes was also achieved with input from two medical experts involved in the shoot who have extensive experience both as medical professionals and also, importantly, in filming re-enactments of emergency department scenarios. The Doctor on-set has broad experience in working in Emergency Departments and as an Emergency Senior Medical Officer in rural areas and has extensive experience in creating high fidelity simulations. These simulations have covered almost every field of medicine (including creating scenarios for emergency medicine, anaesthetics, intensive care, GP consultations, hospital out patients, hospital ward, natural disasters, and car accidents). This experience has meant that he has developed a keen awareness of the essential components to ensure the appearance of reality. The on-set nurse is a registered nurse in Queensland for 19 years. As an agency/contract nurse she works across all the major hospitals in Brisbane and the Gold Coast and has firsthand experience in the realities of what happens when ice users come into the Emergency Department. In addition, she has worked extensively in Emergency Trauma Surgery, Vascular Surgery, Cardio Surgery, ENT Surgery, Gynaecology Surgery, and Ortho

3 Surgery. 2.3 Violence causes alarm and distress to children Regarding specific complaints where young children have been exposed to the advertisement either on television or online, the department has raised this issue with the Government s master media buying agency, Mitchell & Partners Pty Ltd (Mitchells), who undertake the planning and placement of the Australian Government s advertising. They have provided the following response: Online Due to the confronting nature of some of the imagery, every precaution has been taken to ensure the videos do not appear on children s programming or anywhere where a child could be watching. As a result, Mitchells has worked with Google very carefully on this campaign to ensure the videos are only shown across the correct target audiences and parameters have been implemented across all online formats where the video has been booked. These include the application of: extensive negative keywords and topics, including my little pony and other children s franchises (e.g. Sesame Street, Dora, Peppa pig etc.); negative channels to not appear across children s and family content (e.g. familyoriented TV shows, educational games, comics and animation, and family oriented games and activities); and time targets to only appear between 8pm 2am (across all time zones). Mitchells has also confirmed with other online video publishers, Lava and Amnet, that relevant age, content, and time filters have been applied to the videos to ensure they do not appear where children may be viewing. These measures have been put in place to minimise the risk of children being exposed to the videos, however it does not guarantee that a child would not see the advertising if they are: signed into an adult account (or account belonging to someone14+) online between 8pm and 2am watching other than the negative topic/keyword content. In addition to these measures, the online advertisement on YouTube is blocked on all videos not categorised and all family content. This means anything that is considered to be appropriate for children, is blocked from showing the advertisement. Television All television commercials must be classified before they are allowed to be broadcast on freeto-air television. The 45 second Ice destroys lives advertisement received an M rating meaning it was recommended for viewing only by persons aged 15 years and older. The definition outlines that an M rated ad may be broadcast on weekdays and weekends between 8.30pm and 5.00am (but not in G or PG programs or sport starting or continuing past 8.30pm). After investigation with the relevant network, Mitchells confirmed that an Ice destroys lives TVC aired in GO NSW in the last 15 minutes of Shrek 2 on Friday, 29 May. This spot went to air at 21:15 and the program finished at 21:30. The network advised that this spot ran

4 outside of the pre-checks from Sales, Traffic and On-air presentation, resulting from human error. This should never have run in a PG rated program. While the advertisement was put through the correct approval processes, placement was at the discretion of free-to-air television. Mitchells will continue to monitor and reiterate appropriate placement parameters for the Ice destroys lives advertising materials. 2.6 Health and Safety within prevailing community standards The actions depicted in the scene highlighted in the complaint are not intended to represent self-harm but formication and what is commonly known as meth sores or meth mites, a recognised side effect of chronic methamphetamine use where a drug user experiencing tactile hallucinations may have the sensation of crawling insects on or under the skin and picks at the skin to remove them. Clinical evidence indicates some ice users pick at the skin using sharp objects, including injecting needles, which contributes to an infection of the skin and the presentation of sores. Government approvals As with all advertising the Department undertakes, this approach was focus-tested prior to development and reviewed against the Guidelines on Information and Advertising Campaigns by non-corporate Commonwealth entities (the Guidelines). These Guidelines set out the principles applying to information and advertising campaigns undertaken in Australia, which include that Campaigns should be: relevant to government responsibilities; presented in an objective, fair and accessible manner and be designed to meet the objectives of the campaign; objective and not directed at promoting party political interests; justified and undertaken in an efficient, effective and relevant manner. The National Drugs Campaign Ice was found to comply with Principles 1-4. The Department s Legal Section reviewed the Campaign and found that the materials complied with Principle 5 of the Guidelines, including all relevant laws, such as broadcasting and media. The Secretary of the Department, certified that the National Drugs Campaign - Ice complies with the Australian Government s Guidelines on Information and Advertising Campaigns by non-corporate Commonwealth entities. The media activity for this phase of the National Drugs Campaign will conclude on 30 June THE DETERMINATION The Advertising Standards Board ( Board ) considered whether this advertisement breaches Section 2 of the Advertiser Code of Ethics (the Code ). The Board noted the complainants concerns that the advertisement features graphic and

5 violent scenes that are distressing, especially to children. The Board viewed the advertisement and noted the advertiser s response. The Board considered whether the advertisement was in breach of Section 2.3 of the Code. Section 2.3 states: "Advertising or Marketing Communications shall not present or portray violence unless it is justifiable in the context of the product or service advertised". The Board noted the advertisements are broken into the four main scenes depicting: a) Loss of sleep: A young man in an office is struggling to concentrate and loses his temper with a colleague. b) Aggression: A mother and son are arguing in the kitchen after he takes money from her wallet. He knocks his mother to the ground as a young girl, who could be his daughter, looks on. c) Formication: A girl is sitting in her room picking at her arm. d) Psychosis: A young man is escorted into the emergency department of a regional hospital. He snaps and attacks the orderly and police. Security run to help and the man is wrestled to the floor. The final screen shot states ice destroys lives don t let it destroy yours. The Board noted the advertiser s response that concept testing research among ice users found that the possible health and social harms depicted in the advertisement were highly credible, gave an honest portrayal of the impact of ice, and reflected their own experiences. Consistent with the same advertisement being considered on television (0219/15)the Board considered, that certain images like the ones shown are relevant to the important public health and safety message that the advertisement is attempting to convey. The Board noted the advertiser s response that due to the confronting nature of some of the imagery, every precaution has been taken to ensure the videos do not appear on children s programming or anywhere where a child could be watching. As a result, the media buyer has worked with Google very carefully on the campaign to ensure the videos are only shown across the correct target audiences and parameters have been implemented across all online formats where the video has been booked. The Board acknowledged that some members of the community who have been affected by drug use could find the advertisements upsetting but considered that though the actual content of the advertisement was disturbing, it was not overly graphic and was relevant to the important community awareness message being communicated regarding the effects of ice use on the body and mind. Consistent with its previous determinations the Board considered that the advertisement depicted graphic imagery which was justifiable in the context of the product or service advertised. The Board determined that the advertisement did not breach Section 2.3 of the Code. The Board considered Section 2.6 of the Code. Section 2.6 of the Code states: Advertising or Marketing Communications shall not depict material contrary to Prevailing Community Standards on health and safety. The Board noted a complainants concern that viewing the advertisement could be a trigger for rehabilitated drug users. In the Board s view, the intent of the advertisement was to raise awareness of the negative social and physical aspects of drug use and that this message was intended to reach the broader community in an attempt to deter those who may be considering use and those who may be users alerting them to associated dangers. The Board noted that the advertisement includes a call to action at the end providing a web address of where to go to get help.

6 The Board determined that the advertisement promoted an important community awareness message and did not depict material contrary to Prevailing Community Standards on health and safety and did not breach Section 2.6 of the Code. Finding that the advertisement did not breach the Code on other grounds, the Board dismissed the complaints.