‘No’ campaign ad deemed too rude for TV prime time
A similar ad against gay marriage was first aired in August. Photo: YouTube
The No campaign’s latest anti-same-sex marriage TV has been banned from early viewing time slots for being too crude.
Free TV has told the Coalition For Marriage that its latest ad has been slapped with an MA classification due to its “depictions of implied sexual activity and verbal sexual references”.
As such the ad can only air in later time slots, The Australian newspaper has reported.
The 30-second ad, which was scheduled to on Monday evening, screens passages including “penis-in-vagina sex is not the only sex and certainly not the ultimate sex”, and “it’s a total lie that all guys have dicks, that all girls have vaginas”.
The offending passages were reportedly taken from the Safe School-endorsed OMG I’m Trans and OMG I’m Queer resource packs, both of which are made available by the Victorian Department of Education and also appear on the websites of some South Australian schools.
The Australian reported that Coalition for Marriage had tried to point out to Free TV’s commercial advice arm that the passages had been taken directly from materials that had been approved by some state governments. That same material was also taught to students from Years Seven on.
However, the Coalition was reportedly told that Free TV was independent of governments, and under the commercial television code of practice the “material was not appropriate for viewing by minors”.
Coalition for Marriage spokesman Lyle Shelton took to Twitter to call out what he saw as hypocrisy by Free TV.
Here’s the ad that is safe for school but not for TV. UK PM Teresa May says this is what comes after SSM. https://t.co/HqP0OCvOEG
— Lyle Shelton (@LyleShelton) October 22, 2017
Our latest ad banned before 8:30pm but radical 🏳️🌈 concepts fine for daytime school. https://t.co/Z2ZFvsi47U
— Lyle Shelton (@LyleShelton) October 22, 2017
The Coalition for Marriage’s first ad was also heavily based on the argument that legalising same-sex marriage would lead to an intensification of the Safe Schools-style sexuality and gender-diversity education programs in schools.
“None of the mums I know are homophobic and they don’t want to see bullying, but this isn’t that,” one of the mothers in the ad says.
“This really seems like it’s part of a bigger agenda.”
In a statement Mr Shelton said the decision supported the Coalition’s argument.
“The radical LGBTIQ sex and gender ideology that is being brought into the classroom under the guise of an anti-bullying program is not appropriate for children,” Mr Shelton said.
“By framing it as an anti-bullying program rather than as LGBTIQ sex education, those behind the program have been able to bypass the normal parental knowledge and consent that comes with other types of sex ed.
“Parents must be told about this, because – as the advertising regulator has said – it’s completely inappropriate for children.”
