Thumbs to ‘Middle Finger’ Health Campaign in New Zealand | New Zealand

A New Zealand A health campaign aimed at curbing hepatitis C has hit a snag after one of its adverts was deemed to be too disgusting to breathe.

Associate Health Minister Ayesha Verrall launched the “Stick to Hep C” campaign in July to raise awareness of the virus, which kills about 200 New Zealanders a year.

The campaign included videos, outdoor posters and online materials featuring actors smiling and raising their middle finger at another person. of advertisement The actor then pricks his middle finger and submits it for a blood test to determine if he has a blood-borne virus.

But the Advertising Standards Authority upheld the complaint, calling the ad images “highly offensive”.

“The sign has long been established as ‘sign language,'” the complainant said. “It has no place to be seen on billboards or by children.”

While the complaints board agreed, viewers of the ad said: “There’s a simple finger-prick test to find out if you’ve been exposed to hepatitis C and a new effective treatment that means you can say ‘Fuck you’ to hepatitis C.” “, “is missing context for many people who can only focus on gestures.

The sign is “one of the most offensive signs you can give to another person and always has negative connotations,” the board said, disagreeing with the advertiser that the character’s smile undercuts any offensive intent.

The ad used rude and offensive gestures, and agreed it was a breach of standards.

Nick Chamberlain, National Director of the Public Health Service, said NZ Herald The decision was “sad”.

We did not intend to cause serious or widespread offense with our choice of campaign image and it is unfortunate that the ASA felt that we had not struck the balance on this occasion.

The middle finger photo has been removed from the original campaign image, but the YouTube clip remains online, and the middle finger image is still in Campaign website.