My issue with ads
I’m always making choices for my kids. I choose healthy meals for them, I choose what time they go to bed and I choose what they watch on TV. That’s my job as a parent, right? Which is why I have such an issue with advertisements on commercial television stations in Australia.
One of my personal guidelines for living is this:
…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Philippians 4:8)
I have a strong belief that the thoughts, images and sounds we allow to fill our minds have an impact on the people we become and so I try to make good choices for my own well-being, both emotionally and physically. And, I use the same guidelines when I’m deciding what I’ll let my children watch on TV.
There are some things that are black and white. Our eldest son, Possum, is 4 and there’s no way he needs to see sex acts, violence, cruelty, horror or a myriad of other things on TV. I also don’t think he needs to hear bad language. I am fully aware that he will come across all of these things some time in the future but I see no good reason for him to experience those now through 4-year-old eyes and with 4-year-old thinking. As such, we simply don’t watch shows that contain any or all of these things. However, I am increasingly frustrated by what happens when we do decide to watch something with our kids.
A regular event in our house is Saturday night pizza while watching Australia’s Funniest Home Videos. Most of the content is kid-friendly and it’s something we watch together as a family. I know when I watch Funniest Home Videos that, by and large, the content will be OK (although some of the hen’s night/bachelor party videos go a bit far and some of the voice over is innuendo-filled). We’ll see cute animals, people falling over and some great coincidences caught on camera. The big issue comes when it’s time for the advertisements.
Late last year, right smack-bang in the middle of Australia’s Funniest Home Videos was an ad for A Current Affair. Menacing music played, along with an image of a deeply distressed woman. Then a gravelly-voice thundered something along the lines of:
He killed her mother. He killed her children. Then he came after her.
The advertisement was for an interview with a woman who had endured unspeakable tragedy when her father murdered her mother and children. I cannot even begin to imagine the level of pain and grief she is experiencing, however I do not think it’s appropriate for my 4-year-old to see that ad. The music and the voice-over all painted a very clear picture of danger. What possible good can it do for Possum to hear that a grandfather has murdered his wife and grandchildren, except instill a fear in him that he just doesn’t need to feel?
This is not an isolated incident. Another night an ad for a crime show clearly showed children being abducted. Whether it be a provocatively-dressed woman promoting something like Cougar Town or a blood-spattered crime scene complete with a body for CSI, commercial television advertisements are taking away my right as a parent to choose what my kids watch. I understand that TV stations want to promote their own programs and increase their viewing share, but surely there are standards that need to be followed. I can choose what actual programs I watch with my family but I am totally powerless when it comes to advertising. So, here’s my solution.
I think all television advertisements should fit the rating of whatever program is showing at the time. If it’s a G-rated program that is airing (like the Saturday night family movie) then ALL the advertisements should be G-rated, regardless of whether the show they are advertising is G-rated. For example, if Channel 9 felt the need to advertise A Current Affair during Australia’s Funniest Home Videos, then they would be limited to inferences: “On Monday’s program, hear the heart-wrenching story of one woman’s loss and grief as a result of a family tragedy”. Shows like Cougar Town, which are clearly aimed at an adult audience, may be limited to a single photo-frame or heading, but so be it. I am not asking television stations to change their programming – I have a remote control with an OFF button and I use it – but I am asking them to allow me to decide what my children are exposed to in advertising.
What do you think? Is that something you feel strongly about too?
I agree!! Of course, I also have a problem with ads in general on programming that’s specifically aimed at kids … trying to sell more toys (or actually, more discontent) in the breaks between shows. Here in Canada, the cable network aimed at smaller kids, toddlers and preschoolers, is commercial-free, which is nice, but the one aimed at school-age kids has loads of commercials and I could totally see the difference in my kids and their obsession with wanting stuff, once they graduated to watching shows on that network. Fortunately they only see it when they visit friends or relatives. We don’t have cable so almost all our family TV-watching is on DVD, and avoiding questionable commercials, or commercials at all, is one of the reasons I prefer it that way!
Well said. We tend to watch more ABC now (I have 2 little boys, and 1 big one who watch Scrapheap Challenge, and then the cartoon afterwards frame by frame!)
Its just as bad as some daytime TV. An example is any cooking show. All my children adore cooking shows (perhaps wishful thinking that their mum might learn something
) The ads on at these times are completely inappropriate, and I would like to think I am quite broad minded about these things.
I agree with what you have said. A lot of adults as well as children don’t need to hear the head lines or see the graphic ads. Oh, and a whole new ball game of issues arrives when they can read …
G ads for G shows sounds perfectly reasonable and so on.
Thanks, Trudy & Fiona – I’m glad I’m not the only one this bothers!! Trudy, our ABC is generally commercial-free (kind of – they sometimes do merchandise type stuff but it’s tame compared to the commercial stations) and our boys watch that most often. It will be interesting to see the product placement influence as they get older.
Fiona – I agree about the cooking shows. Daytime TV used to be very tame and pretty safe, but I’m not game to let my kids watch anything right now. I’m going to write to the TV stations (because they won’t let you email complaints – how bad is that??) and although I may only be one voice, maybe it will start a ball rolling somewhere… I just want to have the right to choose what my kids watch. As for reading, don’t get me started on billboards I see around the place! If I wasn’t a writer/responsible parent I may be choosing illiteracy for my kids LOL
Here’s a link to the Code Of Practice for Commercial TV Stations
http://3.ly/ERDa
The few pages starting on p17 will give you an idea of what currently “can and can’t” be shown in promotions during shows of a certain rating (eg in G or PG), including in ads for higher rated shows and news/current affairs shows.
In writing to them you could suggest improvements or, even better, point out where you think they haven’t complied. There is a 30 day window to report breaches of the code for follow up, but it’s good anyway to know the regulations for future inappropriate broadcasting you might spot.
Also, I read that the revised code requires stations to accept online complaints through a form on the freetv website from 1st March 2010 . Not quite email, but a step into the 21st century at least.
Kent, thanks so much for that. I have saved a copy and will refer to it with interest. Looking at the guidelines briefly, it appears that the stations are obliged to do exactly what I suggested – keep advertising to G rating during a G rated show etc – so I’m thinking either a.) no-one has called them on it or b.) they have some slippery interpretation of the guidelines. I will be keeping a pen and paper handy over the next little while and recording any particular instances that I think breach this code of conduct. I tried going through the Advertising Standards Bureau, but it turns out they don’t look at any ads for a network’s own shows. It seems to me this is a case of self-regulation which isn’t working too well. It seems ludicrous that I can complain about a toothpaste ad that someone pays for on a network, but I can’t complain to the same people about internal advertising. Anyway, I will keep you posted on what I discover!