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Ad industry has ‘vital role’ in changing law on assisted dying, says Andrew Denton

Andrew Denton, co-director of Go Gentle Australia, says that the advertising industry will have a vital role to play helping to convince Australian politicians to bring in assisted dying legislation.
andrew denton - linked in - cropped

And the strategy to change laws around the country is also being led by Walkley Award winning ABC journalist David Hardaker and the woman who worked with Neil Lawrence to run the successful Kevin07 campaign.

Last week Denton delivered a moving speech at The National Press Club asking why Australia was forcing good people to die bad deaths and said that 70% of Australians were in favour of allowing people to choose a humane death free of pain and called upon the media and marketing industries to help.

With little budget for the cause Denton is asking media to help run Go Gentle Australia's ad

With little budget for the cause Denton is asking media to help run Go Gentle Australia’s ad

The cause is been driven by Hardaker who is leading the strategy with one of Australia’s leading political campaign strategists in Tanya Jones, who worked with the late Neil Lawrence on the successful Kevin07 campaign, the re-elections of Anna Bligh in Queensland and Jay Wetherill in South Australia, advising.

Jones has also worked on election campaigns for Kim Beazley and Paul Keating.

Tanya Jones: former managing director of Lawrence Creative Strategy

Tanya Jones: former managing director of Lawrence Creative Strategy

Denton told Mumbrella the vast level of support the cause had, from average Australians to nurses and doctors, was not being reflected on the corridors of political power.

As a result, Go Gentle is now working to run ads promoting its e-book, The Damage Done, which tells the stories of those forced to endure painful and debilitating illness,

“We need to explain and explain and find ways to inflame public conversation, and that is where the marketing comes in,” Denton said.

But said Go Gentle Australia needed more funding to help the ad get published. “It’s full page and we can’t afford to run it, so this might be the only time it’s seen,” he said at the Press Club.

“But we’d be delighted if someone would like to run it for us.”

Go Gentle Australia is also working with ad agency Cummins & Partners to help communications strategies to support the push.

He said that the power of social media would be central to the campaign. “I’m trying to shake a big cyber-fist in the face of politicians,” he said.

One of the most important elements of the campaign would be to use the stories of the very people Go Gentle Australia is trying to help.

Unscripted videos of people talking about the suffering, not just of people suffering from illness, but the families of those forced to witness the suffering and the stories of the impact of suicide bids.

David Hardaker

David Hardaker has produced moving films to support the campaign

The videos were produced by Hardaker and are being hosted on both Youtube and Go Gentle Australia’s website which will be used as a public marshalling point for the campaign.

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