TV ‘fear porn’ Covid-19 ads slammed by MPs

A graphic Covid-19 advert showing a woman struggling to breathe has been blasted by Barnaby Joyce and other politicians for trying to scare Sydneysiders.

A confronting ad about the effects of Covid-19 is being aired in Sydney during the Delta strain outbreak.

A graphic Covid-19 advert showing a woman struggling to breathe has been blasted by Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and other politicians for trying to scare Sydneysiders.

Scott Morrison defended the federal government advert on Monday, saying it was having the desired effect of keeping people in locked down parts of NSW at home.

After advertising gurus slammed the advert on Sunday, both Labor and Coalition MPs in the federal and NSW parliaments have labelled it “fear porn” and “incredibly out of touch.”

Mr Joyce on Monday said that he preferred health adverts which give people information, rather than scaring them into obeying government instructions.

“As far as the ad, which is kind of graphic, to be quite frank I’m not a great fan of those. I believe that, you know, you got to give people information, not scare them witless. And people know what the ramifications are,” he told the Seven Network.

Nationals MP George Christensen went further in attacking the advert, and wrote on Instagram the commercial had “disgusted him” and that the government should not run it.

“It’s bad enough the mainstream media is running pandemic fear porn on a nightly basis, we don’t need taxpayers funding it as well,” Mr Christensen said.

NSW state Labor frontbencher Jihad Dib also attacked the advert on Sunday night, and said the federal government needed to push a “positive” message around vaccine.

“Rather than creating a fear campaign, start by having enough vaccines, mass vaccination hubs and a positive approach to the issue of vaccination. This is a terrible advert – incredibly out of touch and way off the mark,” he tweeted.

The 30-second commercial is squarely targeting Sydney residents amid concerns many people there are failing to adhere to strict stay-at-home rules as the city remains in lockdown for a third week.

The Prime Minister on Monday said while the advert was promoting vaccinations, it was also achieving its primary purpose to keep locked down residents from leaving their homes.

“There’s always criticism of any advertising, I know that. And it was only a few weeks ago that … critics were saying that the advertising needed to be stronger, far stronger,” he said.

“We’re really seeing those mobility levels now plummeting in New South Wales, which means people are getting the message and staying at home.”

Medical professionals also backed the campaign. Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Karen Price said the graphic ad was effective but should be balanced with more positive commercials.

“It’s one of those ads which gets people talking and that’s a good thing. But hopefully we will also see some ads, like the ones in France, which show life opening up through vaccines,” she said.

Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid said the ad accurately depicted the threat Covid-19 could pose to people of all ages.

“Many thousands of people have died in just the same circumstances seen in the ad,” Dr Khorshid said.