Anti-Gay Marriage Ad Gets Pulled Off Before Mardi Gras

Anti-Gay Marriage Ad Gets Pulled Off Before Mardi Gras

A rather odd commercial that espouses children have no rights in same-sex marriage aired on the commercial stations last night, however, was pulled from the government broadcaster SBS just prior to Saturday night’s live telecast of the Gay And Lesbian Mardi Gras.

The ad is the work of the Australian Marriage Forum – a Christian lobby group – and pedals the message that kids are somehow harmed when they aren’t raised by a mother and a father. The ad is part of the Forum’s campaign opposing same-sex marriage and is called “Think of the Child”.

The ad features the Forum’s president, David van Gend, who is portrayed as a family doctor and has already been viewed 140,000 times on You Tube.

“So-called marriage equality forces a child to miss out on a mother or a father,” Dr van Gend says during the 43-second spot. “That’s not equality for the kids who miss out. That’s not marriage.”

A spokesperson for SBS was reported in the Fairfax presses this morning as saying the broadcaster had “the right to choose what ads we run”; adding, such an ad airing during the Mardi Gras was at odds with the annual parade’s message.

For his part, Dr van Gend said the pulling of the ad was a “suppression of free speech” and added it was a valid and contrary message to that of the Mardi Gras.

“It is outrageous for a taxpayer funded broadcaster like SBS to apply censorship to one side of the debate on same-sex marriage,” he was quoted as saying.

“SBS gives free airtime for them to make their political point on ‘marriage equality’, but refuses to show even one minute of a paid ad presenting an opposing view.”

 




Please login with linkedin to comment

Advertising Standards Bureau Sport vegemite and chocolate

Latest News

Sydney Comedy Festival: Taking The City & Social Media By Storm
  • Media

Sydney Comedy Festival: Taking The City & Social Media By Storm

Sydney Comedy Festival 2024 is live and ready to rumble, showing the best of international and homegrown talent at a host of venues around town. As usual, it’s hot on the heels of its big sister, the giant that is the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, picking up some acts as they continue on their own […]

Global Marketers Descend For AANA’s RESET For Growth
  • Advertising

Global Marketers Descend For AANA’s RESET For Growth

The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) has announced the final epic lineup of local and global marketing powerhouses for RESET for Growth 2024. Lead image: Josh Faulks, chief executive officer, AANA  Back in 2000, a woman with no business experience opened her first juice bar in Adelaide. The idea was brilliantly simple: make healthy […]