Australia Launches Fear Campaigns to Fight COVID

Published July 13th, 2021 - 09:32 GMT
Graphic COVID-19 ad
Graphic COVID-19 ad (Twitter)
Highlights
Australians Offended by COVID Reality.
The Federal government has launched a ‘graphic’ ad amid the Sydney COVID outbreak.

'Graphic' vaccine advert sparks backlash.

This brings to mind how ineffective adverts using fear appraisals can be. 

A young woman hooked up to an oxygen ventilator in hospital struggling to breathe due to Covid-19 is the focus of a “confronting” new advert targeting Sydneysiders. 

“Covid-19 can affect anyone…Book your vaccination.”

Some people say the advert unfairly targets young people. Official health advice also recommends that young people wait for a Pfizer jab instead of the available AstraZeneca vaccine. 

"Completely offensive to run an ad like this when Australians in this age group are still waiting for their vaccinations," tweeted broadcaster Hugh Riminton.

"Why are we targeting young people? Shouldn't we be targeting the rising rate of vaccine hesitancy in over-55s?" said another Twitter user.

The message was anyone can save a life by getting vaccinated, just as anyone can inadvertently risk a life. But in the end the ad “leans very, very strongly into scare tactics and fear”. 

In Australia, just over 10% of the population has been fully vaccinated.

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