List of complaints against Beyond Blue campaign dismissed by ASB
Complaints that a Beyond Blue campaign raising awareness around Indigenous Australians mental illness was racist towards white people have been dismissed by the Ad Standards Board.
The campaign, created by independent agency Marmalade, visually represents the actions of non-Indigenous people through a character dressed in black who influences their behaviour when interacting or near Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Complaints against the campaign – which ran for over five pages in the ASB’s case study of the findings – argued the ad only depicted “‘white’ people” as those vilifying the Indigenous people represented in the campaign.
They suggested the ad is “reverse racism”, arguing that “white Australian’s aren’t the only race in Australia that bully and racially victimise others”.
The complainants argued that the ads “marginalise Aboriginals”, and even suggest the Australian population will learn the behaviour from seeing it in the campaign.
Beyond Blue defended the campaign, saying the intention was “to draw attention to the hurtful and harmful discrimination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people”.
“This campaign targets non-Indigenous men and women who do not consider themselves to be racist and who want to be seen as tolerant, however they may believe negative stereotypes, tell racist jokes or make insensitive or offensive comments out of fear, ignorance or habit,” it said.
They continued: “Our intention is not to deride, or encourage discrimination against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people or any other group of Australians including ‘white’ Australians.”
Beyond Blue said the campaign was designed to “make people question their behaviour”.
In its ruling, the board noted the ad uses “Indigenous people as an identifiable category of people in order to base the overall theme and purpose of the campaign”.
As the board noted that the “focal point” of the ad is the Indigenous people “and the focus of seeing what an Indigenous person feels”, the perpetrators are “incidental” and it was the board’s view that there was “not a negative view of ‘Caucasians” but rather only a negative perception of unconscious discrimination.
The complaints were dismissed.
I am an Australian of indigenous descent. The last time I was racially discriminated against was in Melbourne where an Aboriginal man followed me down the street screaming, “White c@#t, white c@#t.”
There are racists in ALL cultures, we would be much better off if we campaigned against hatred which covers everybody. It is common in Australia to portray all racists as white, particularly SBS and the ABC, but from my personal experience over the years, I have been most vilified and attacked physically by fellow Aboriginals.
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“All of us who professionally use the mass media are the shapers of society. We can vulgarize that society. We can brutalize it. Or we can help lift it onto a higher level.”
Bill Bernbach
Mission accomplished I’d say
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Great, great ad! Thoughtfully Produced and well executed message. Congrat’s to all concerned.
Powerful stuff.
As a white man watching this it moved me to action and will make me think twice.
Clever.
You don’t have to be an ad exec with a pony tail to see that.
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Sorry Robert Kelty, I call bullsh*t. You sound like the complainant.
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I am a white Australian and of Irish and English decent.I have been racially abused by aboriginals many times in unprovoked attacks,plainly because i am white!.I have also been subjected to abuse by islanders and once physically attacted for being just a,”white man”.iI dare ask the question.when will us white folk get the same protection from racial descrimination that other races here in Australia enjoy.And when will us whites get the same generous government intitlements that other races living in this country enjoy?
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I have to laugh when I read the complaints that this campaign is racist towards white people because only white people are depicted as racists in the ads. Hum. Non-white Australians are HARDLY EVER featured in Australian ads so why is it only a problem now? Look at this Sara Lee ad: https://mumbrella.com.au/sara-lea-rolls-first-brand-ad-since-2011-242371 At the end it says “Did we leave anyone out?” Yes you bloody well did. I also doubt that Aboriginals face discrimination at the hands of non-white races in Australia.
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I met a white supremacist once. He was an oxymoron.
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