The nation's newly branded health agency has been ordered to remove, or fix misleading advertisements about Covid-19 vaccination. (File image) Photo:
The nation's newly branded health authority has been ordered to remove or fix a misleading advertisement about vaccination against Covid-19 that ran across multiple media platforms.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) complaints board received 44 complaints against Te Whatu Ora/Health New Zealand's Vaccinate for Life advertisements which ran across television, print and on billboards and mobile phones.
In a statement to Open Justice, the health agency's National Immunisation Programme has apologised for any confusion or concern caused by the advertisements, which concluded in July.
The programme's director, Astrid Koornneef, said while it was disappointed with the decision it accepted the authority's ruling, which related to one element of a wider vaccination campaign.
The ASA said in a summary that the complainants said the advertisement, in its various forms, was misleading because of the wording: "Protect them for life. Immunise against Covid-19". They argued there was no life-long protection from a Covid-19 vaccine.
The Health New Zealand wording on its ads did not contain the words Covid-19, but said "Protect them for life. Immunise."
Some who complained were also concerned that the use of the word "immunise" was misleading, based on how the vaccine worked, but this was not supported by the complaints board.
Most board members agreed the ads themselves did give the wrong impression, and upheld four complaints against the television advertisement, 29 complaints over the print version, and 11 complaints over the billboard and mobile phone version.
They agreed the likely consumer takeaway from the advertisement was that the Covid-19 vaccine offered life-long protection.
The Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand (Ministry of Health – Manatū Hauora) television advertisement promoted immunisation for children, which featured the New Zealand Government and the Ministry of Health – Manatū Hauora logos.
In considering this complaint the board referred to an earlier decision regarding a longer television ad, which it didn't find fault with, because it was designed to encourage parents and caregivers to take steps to protect children in their care, and did not directly reference Covid-19.
The health authority defended its ad during the complaints process, and said the phrase "Protect them for life. Immunise", was developed to have a dual meaning.
It said the word "life" could be "the time between being born and death, or the experience of being alive".
Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand said the tagline "Protect them for life. Immunise", referred to the immunisation programme as a whole-of-life programme.
It said the campaign was developed to cover the concept of childhood immunisations and was not specific to a single vaccine, but provided overarching messaging, for example for MMR, polio, Covid-19, HPV or whooping cough vaccines.
In making its decision the complaints board acknowledged the exceptional circumstances of the rapidly evolving nature of the Covid-19 pandemic.
It confirmed it would take a higher-level approach in assessing the advertising, based on the principles in the Advertising Standards Code, being the requirements for "social responsibility and truthful presentation in responsible advertising".
While some of the board members did not think the television ad was misleading, most said it had not been prepared and placed with a due sense of social responsibility to consumers and to society, considering context, medium, audience and product.
The board was unanimous in its view that the message in the billboard and mobile phone ads was likely to mislead or confuse consumers, because it contained only the lines "Protect them for life", "Immunise" and the call to action to vaccinate against Covid-19.
It said the advertisement did not have the wider context of television advertisements which showed children being protected by parents or caregivers in different aspects of their lives.
The bulk of the complaints were against the print version of the advertisement.
The decision to uphold them was backed by the News Publishers Association, but it also noted earlier complaints about the same statement were not upheld.
The board said in addressing concerns about use of the word "immunise", and whether it was misleading, the likely consumer takeout would be that the vaccine was intended to teach an individual's immune system to recognise an infectious disease so that when exposed to that disease the immune system can fight it off.
The complaints board did not consider this element of the complaint to be misleading.
In all cases it ordered the advertisement to be removed, or not used again in its
current form.
Koornneef told Open Justice that Te Whatu Ora took its commitment to responsible advertising very seriously.
She said there was no intent to mislead or confuse the public through the advertisements, which included some "very specific protection-focused vaccination messaging".
Koornneef said comments by the Advertising Standards Authority and been taken on board and would be valuable in helping to shape future campaign messaging.
"We will also continue to develop advertising campaigns and other initiatives that seek to challenge, inform, and encourage audiences, while promoting the greater protection of our tamariki through the full suite of life-saving vaccinations available.
"This has never been more important, particularly as child immunisation rates continue to fall across the globe, and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic continues to be felt," Koornneef said.
* This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.