‘Middle finger’ campaign to promote hepatitis C vaccination in NZ deemed offensive, stirs row

An attempt by New Zealand to stop the spread of hepatitis C has run into trouble because one of their commercials, which showed individuals giving the middle finger, was considered to be too inflammatory.

Ayesha Verrall, the assistant health minister, launched the "Stick it to Hep C" campaign in July to increase public awareness of the infection, which claims the lives of about 200 New Zealanders annually.

The advertising campaign included performers giving the other person the middle finger while grinning in films, outdoor posters, and web content. The advertisement next shows an actor having a blood test done on his middle finger to see if he has the blood-borne virus.

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But despite a complaint that the advertisement picture was "deeply offensive," the Advertising Standards Authority supported the claim.

“The gesture is long established as ‘sign language’ for a series of very rude words, in short, “F*%$ You!”,” the complainant said. “It has no place on a billboard nor where it can be seen by children.”

While the complaints board acknowledged that viewers of the advertisement were likely to comprehend that there is "an easy finger prick test to determine if you have been exposed to hepatitis C and a new effective treatment, meaning you can say 'Fuck you' to hep C," most viewers were "likely to only focus on the hand gesture," so the context would be lost for them.

The gesture was “one of the most offensive gestures you can give to another person and always has negative connotations”, the board said, disagreeing with the advertiser that the smiling faces of the characters mitigated any aggressive intent.

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It concurred that the advertising violated standards and made an inappropriate and insulting hand motion.

Nick Chamberlain, the national head of the Public Health Service, told the NZ Herald that the choice was "regrettable."

“We had no intention of causing serious or widespread offence with our choice of campaign imagery and it is regrettable that the ASA considers we didn’t get the balance right on this occasion.”

The middle finger graphic has been swapped out with a double thumbs up in the primary campaign image, although the YouTube clip and the website for the ad still use the middle finger image.

(with inputs from agencies)