Credit: Ad Standards
An outdoor poster ad for Hearing Australia will be modified after breaching Ad Standard's Discrimination or Vilification codes.
The ad was flagged for implying that deaf individuals are 'broken' or 'faded', harmful messaging and misrepresenting the deaf community.
The campaign shows a tradesperson with the caption 'When sound fades, you fade' and 'Hearing loss is linked to a 32% higher risk of developing dementia.' It encourages people to book a 15-minute hearing check.
The panel found that the ad presented a disability in a manner that could be considered humiliating.
"This ad is part of a broader pilot campaign to raise awareness of the potential impact of untreated hearing loss," said the advertiser.
"The intent is to promote awareness of the health risks associated with untreated hearing loss, not to diminish or devalue any community. The ad is targeted at adults at higher risk to alert them to the potential risks associated of untreated hearing loss and dementia.
"While the advertiser does not believe that the ad vilifies people with disabilities, it will take the complainant’s comments into considerations for future campaigns."
The panel said that while the ad is intended to reach people who might benefit from having their hearing checked, the reference to ‘fade’ could carry different connotations, depending on the viewer’s perspective and circumstances.
"The majority of the panel also considered that the advertiser only appears to have consulted older adults who have experienced hearing loss but have not yet sought help," the panel said.
"The panel considered that this may have inadvertently excluded the deaf community and any sensitivity around the suggestion that people ‘fade’ as a consequence of their impairment.
"The panel, therefore, found that this ad portrayed deaf people as incomplete somehow, which amounts to an unfair and humiliating depiction of the deaf community in a manner that was inconsistent with community standards on disabilities."
The panel found that the ad breached section 2.1 of the AANA Code of Ethics.
Hearing Australia will discontinue the use of the tagline "when sound fades, you fade."
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