The Irish Examiner is reporting that Trocaire’s Lenten ad campaign has been banned by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland.
Apparently, the justification from banning it is derived from section 10(3) of the Radio Television Act 1988 which states
“no advertisement shall be broadcast which is directed towards any religious or political end or which has any relation to an industrial dispute”.
No, I am not a lawyer, but how would one reasonably determine ‘political ends’? The BCI’s interpretation would seem to indicate that consumption does not entail a political choice, even when many products are marketed precisely on the supposed political consequences of their consumption. There are many products advertised based on a claim that they are good for the environment. Well, doing something good for the environment is a political act.
It appears doing something for the environment is not political, but doing something to address the effects of gender inequality is. Quel crock.
Apparently Today FM had expressed their concerns. Today FM is owned by EMAP, which produces, among other things, those engines of gender equality FHM and Zoo.
The Punishment of Sloth 
As a student of the law, I don’t think the decision is correct.
According to my limited knowledge, a “political end” in the context of section 10(3) must surely be an electoral one.
Gender issues etc. are social, or perhaps socio-economic, and while these, of course, have a political dimension, as long as the campaign is about driving awareness and not a party-political one, I don’t see how it can fall foul of the legislation.
I detect overenthusiasm coupled with a mild degree of ignorance in the “watchdog” – a relatively new body in its current incarnation if memory serves – is behind this ludicrous decision.
er, obviously sentence changed direction at the end there, requiring “detect” to be changed to “suspect”. Didn’t happen though.
Well you explanation seems fair enough to me. We must now clamp down hard on these half-wits before they put a stop to Michael O’Leary making his man-of-the-people appearances on Today FM on the grounds that he is advertising for political ends.