Award-Winning Ad Taken Off Air In Australia

bol_kernal writes "An award-winning advertisement on Australian TV for the new Hyundai 4WD has been pulled from being broadcast after stations received 80 complaints from concerned parents. The ad consists of a small child, age around 2 years, cruising down the road, window down, arm out the window, in his new Hyundai 4WD. He sees a girl of the same age standing on the side of the road, pulls over picks her up, and they go to the beach together. All in all it's cute, funny, and very well done. The ad aired late in the evening (8:30 pm or later), but it was pulled due to concern from parents about the copycat risk. What I want to know is, where has the responsibility of parents gone? Is the world becoming so serious — or so frightened — that fantasy is no longer allowed?"

Comments

It seems to be a touchy subject.... but

[zappepcs]

IMO, those people that complain like that will be the first to help empty the shelves of libraries to burn the books that would corrupt little christian children. While that is an overstatement, the idea is that they want the government and everyone else to be responsible for their kid's behaviors, rather than take their own responsibilities to heart. We know that violent games aren't causing school shootings now, and many other myths have been busted too.

There is also this 'entitlement' notion that causes people to complain about christmas trees in an airport because there are no jewish symbols also, or schools that don't sing christmas carols anymore because it might offend someone.

There needs to be a very definite separation of church and state as well as a very well defined definition of what is acceptable WRT public behavior and displays that are religious in nature. I think the athiest movement has a pretty valid point lately. Soliciting door to door for religion is still soliciting. Churches should not be tax exempt institutions. They have proven that their morals behind the smiling faces are no better, if not worse, than politician's.

If any religion is allowed to make laws and set public policy, it will end up being the wrong religion. If we let people's religious morals decide public policy, we have lost the battle for democracy to the ever increasing ferocity of theocratic movements.

I think that when we hear people complaining about such things as this, we have a perfect target for public scrutiny of sorts. Ralph Nader had evidence to back up what he was pushing. Do these people that complain have any evidence? I don't think so. Perhaps we need a social web site to help debunk such complaints and direct people toward creating standards for such complaining to avoid the hype and dangerous aspects of such behavior?

Just a thought

Re:Explain to a two year old?

[ktappe]

2) Being unselfish enough to have had children.

On the contrary, having kids is about the most egotistical thing you can possibly do in your lifetime. Doing so requires that you:

A. Consider yourself fuckable,

B. Consider your genes worthy of passing on to another generation,

C. Consider your parenting skills worthy,

D. Expect your employer to pay you for being out of work for an extended period of time and save your job until you return,

E. Expect your employer to give you extra time off over the next 18 years as you attend to sick kids, parent-teacher conferences, etc.

F. Expect the government to give you tax breaks/credits,

G. Expect your friends and family to all make allowances for you and to give you baby shower gifts, new parent gifts, and birthday and holiday presents for the rest of their lifes,

H. Expect everyone around you in public areas (stores, airplanes, restaurants) to just accept your kid screaming & misbehaving without complaint,

I. Expect the government to educate your child (exceptions made on this one for those who send their kids to private schools).

And this is just off the top of my head. "Unselfish"? Hardly.