Which TV ads should be banned?

~Brock~

Price comparison ads, car/home insurance ads, ambulance chasers, PPI claimers, gambling etc all make me vow NOT to use their services, but the worst - as already said - are charity ads.

If Oxfam can supply a village with fresh water for £2 a month then why the hell are they not competing with Thames Water?

janiebquick

OK, here we go: payday loans, ambulance chasers, over 50s insurance products, baby milk, expensive/nasty toys.....

glossyhair

Consumerist wrote: »

I would like to see anti-smoking ads banned. They are mostly revolting to watch..

Surely that is the point?

HelenRoulson

I'm so pleased to see you've flagged up the topic of what adverts to ban:T
I am really concerned about the way gambling adverts glamourise the possibility of winning making it look more of a sure thing. Gambling addition is so destructive to a family and I think the Government should wake up to doing the right thing in banning these adverts completely. I'm also concerned about how much sports sponsorship is from betting sites (ie snooker). I wish sportspeople would vote with integrity with who their sponsors are. It's time to take a stand.
In a challenging economic situation - any perceived get rich scheme can be seriously temping to a vulnerable individual. Please can MSE get a petition/campaign going on this please. I'd be the first to sign it!

Rooster72

I hate to sound unfeeling but I believe charity adverts should be restricted. ITV3 & ITV4, for instance, probably show two or three in every break, which is too much. Yes, they have to pull at the heart strings so we go for the purse strings but it has to be realised it is not just tough for charities.

It is very difficult to sponsor just one charity so you might set up direct debits for several and then find yourself short.

Don't get me wrong, charities need help. The Government does little enough for them. Trouble is, there are too many fighting the same causes. If charities with the same aims could team up, like Help The Aged and Age Concern. They might be stronger and better off for it.

MissAT

Torry_Quine wrote: »

I would ban pay day loans companies and have alcohol and fast food banned from prior to the watershed.

I agree, pay day loans companies: quick fixes for people who cannot afford to pay back. Some are at 2000% interest, shocking!

Not only should these companies be banned from TV they should be outlawed altogether

JimmyTheWig

MissAT wrote: »

Some are at 2000% interest, shocking!

While I agree they charge terrible rates of interest, the figures quoted have to, by law, be an APR. Which is pretty misleading for a loan that is designed to last for a few weeks.

Consider the following chocie presented to a child:
"You can have one sweet now, or two in 5 minutes time."
If you can tell me the annual equivalent interest rate (i.e. what would, by law, have to be given if such a choice was advertised) then you will see how inappropriate a figure it is to have them quote.

gayleygoo

I think gambling adverts should be banned from TV. That's not to say I think gambling should be banned, but encouraging people to pick up their mobile phone and immediately gamble money away is financially irresponsible.

I'm also not keen on many of the charity ads - I hope I don't sound uncompassionate when I say that I don't believe it's okay to show dying children in such a way on daytime TV. DH is a postman and delivered charity request letters a few weeks ago. They had a photo on the front, of an almost-dead African toddler with it's face twisted in pain, covered in flies, and some people refused to take the letter because they deemed them an inappropriate way to ask for money. Shock tactics might encourage be a good way to advertise, but clever advertising works better and doesn't force you to turn over to another TV channel halfway through a very long and disturbing TV ad.

MissAT

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

While I agree they charge terrible rates of interest, the figures quoted have to, by law, be an APR. Which is pretty misleading for a loan that is designed to last for a few weeks.

Yes, but the majority of people who cannot wait between pay days are not going to be able to pay back in the short term, therefore they will be subject to the higher interest rates, further worsening their situation.

MissAT

gayleygoo wrote: »

I'm also not keen on many of the charity ads - I hope I don't sound uncompassionate when I say that I don't believe it's okay to show dying children in such a way on daytime TV.

It's an emotional rollercoaster between watching a light-hearted day time program and feeling miserable because of the suffering. It's not uncompassionate, and it doesn't make me want to donate money, I think I pay tax part of this money should go towards this.