You just know we’re in for another year of moral outrage in the comedy genre with complaints appearing today over TEN’s new network promo.
“They make a joke of what can be a really important process for those dealing with a mental health crisis and if it discourages even one person from seeking out this sort of help or support that is not on,” Lifeline’s Chris Wagner told the Daily Telegraph.
Barbara Hocking of Sane Australia said, “What they have done is trivialise something very serious at the expense of people with mental health issues, who are getting a bit sick of being the butt of jokes.”
TEN Publicist Jeanette McLoughlin defended the sketch saying, “It’s a parody of the industry, but the joke’s on us with the pressure on to deliver and we reckon our viewers will get that joke in the spirit in which it’s meant.”
TEN also supports mental health initiative Headspace.
At any rate it’s getting people talking. Which is probably what it was intended to do…?
Source: Daily Telegraph
All I really care about is Paul Mcdermott’s seal impersonation!
How sad, Aussies are forgetting how to have a laugh at themselves and that’s what makes us special. Why don’t we say how good it is to see our local celebrities looking like crap….reminds us all that they don’t wake up with full make-up on and looking OK. But Dr Chris Brown……what were you thinking, there goes That fantasy forever.
Oh yeah David timing is everything and as I said I find the ID funny myself, just that I can understand why some may have ill feelings towards it, after all it has only been just over 2 years since Charmaine Dragun took her life (November 2nd 2007), so there would be those who would have mourned recently.
First rule of comedy is timing. I suspect if it was 2007 the network wouldnt have run with it.
When I saw this I thought they were just having a shot at themselves in a Celebrity Rehab With Dr Drew way and it being completely harmless
Though I can also see in retrospect of the Ten Newsreader Charmaine Dragun committing suicide in 2007, that some may be taken a back by the Promo and see it in non-sensitive light.
There are arguments for its humour and for it being a touchy subject.
@ FJ… “A blessing in disguise. Perhaps now they can make a decent promo.”…. Talk about being outnumbered buddy. It appears your sense of humour needs checking
@VMan – Carrie Bickmore.
Who was the blond woman at the start of the ad sitting next to the Masterchef crew? I try to recognise her but her flipping hair is in the way
It sucks that Rove and Peter Helliar aren’t on this ad because I know they would’ve been amazing. RIP Rove Live….
Anyway a lot of people are saying this is hilarious…for me it’s a good commercial, definitely unique and interesting, but laugh-out-loud funny? I think I only laughed when the Neighbours girl started singing.
Funny, I thought I supported the ad.
It’s only the media and sites like this that make a big deal about complaints. It is just human nature that someone, somewhere, will have a complaint about everything.
So I now complain about TV Tonight, making a big deal about complaints, which paints society as being narrow minded – most people don’t give a damn.
But hey, when it’s a slow news day, the media’s got to do what it does best.
Funny how mikey robbins says that it wouldn;t be so bad if people expected to be funny only occasionly. How being funny just once mikey robbins??? huh?
But that being said.
What mental illness are they suppose to be making light off?
Are they going to run this ID during the House episode tonight (Sun), House in an Asylum and this together, that would be a good way too peeve more people and get more free publicity … then I suppose soon a contact Lifeline bit will be tacked on the end to keep the Moral lot happy [rolleyes]
lols ahahhaaha this is funny, very good ad Ten, dont stop the good work
I thought it was a little stupid anyway and not really that funny, but still this is going a bit far. The 2008 idents were a lot better.
Lighten up! It’s funny!
@Qwerty. Good point about Australian comedy, which has always been very satirical and dark. I very seriously doubt whether “Mother and Son” could be screened today. It would be absolutely crucified in the media for poking fun at someone suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, in fact I very seriously doubt whether it would even by greenlighted for production by any network now. PC hadn’t taken hold 15-20 years ago when “Mother and Son” first screened.
Have you met Mikey Robbins?
Political correctness is driving me crazy
Oh Lifeline and Barbara Hocking, you are freakin’ kidding aren’t you? “If it discourages one person from seeking help, it’s not on”. Puh-lease!!!! When did we all turn into such precious, hothouse flowers? As if someone seeking therapy would be put off by an Obviously satirical commercial that screens for one minute. If you are sick enough, you will seek treatment, end of story.
I am really fed up to the back teeth with this PC rubbish where everything must be SO serious and nothing can be satirised. Is there anything more insufferable than media manufactured outrage? The promo is absolutely brilliant, the sort of thing Nine and Seven wish they’d come up with. Kudos to Ten’s advertising department.
Manufactured outrage makes me furious.
Fantastic advert.
Ted, I for one am well aware of the fact that this is an issue which has been manufactured by the media. I am also aware that the Telegraph deliberately presented the issue knowing that most of their readers would side Against the hyperbolic angle they presented it from. However, that doesn’t change the fact that LifeLine and Sane Australia Did take the bait, and therefore should be held accountable for their stupidity. At least this provides us with an insight into the closed mindedness of the people who run such organisations.
Channel Ten did very well with this advert. I think that its wonderful
I had suffered very bad depression in the past and still got mild case today. I found the ad to be very funny and I think that Sane Australia should do their research before jumping ahead. There is so much bad things happening around us, we need to laugh, so Sane Australia think before you speak.
I think maybe Barbara Hocking needs to get a new job, at INsane Australia, cause she clearly is.
The only thing that trivialises anything here is her saying that this trivialises the mental illness. For starters Support groups arn’t just for the mentally ill, there are a large variety of support groups. I didn’t think it made any kind of reference to mentally ill people, and still don’t.
Its really annoying all these groups that make mountains out of mole hills, only for free advertising, all it does it portray themselves in a negative light and ends up doing what they are complaining about in the first place.
This is the best thing I’ve seen 10 do in a while.
Utterly ridiculously. How many calls did the terrorgraph make before they got a bite? Annoyed at myself for wasting time commenting on such a tripe. shame on you all for bothering with such a non-issue.
They are joking right? This ad is hilarious and what is Australia coming to. We are getting to much like the US. You wait next we will be censoring anything that is related to swearing in shows. This is meant as a satire.
“Yumour, Kim, I’m using yumour!”
Please don’t dump these ads their fabulous.
You can’t make fun of sick kids, now you can’t make fun of something so remotely related to an illness – sounds like these organisations are suffering a bad case of rectal cranial inversion (aka head up a*se syndrome).
I suffer from a diagnosed mental health condition, and the views expressed by the organisations concerned are not representative of me and my people. The ad is as funny as hell, and if anything could raise the awareness that there is support available for people who have any form of illness, mental, physical or otherwise.
I’d like to thank all the political correctness w*nkers for killing Australian satire.
They tried to do something clever and original and I think they ought to be congratulated for it. Or at least not be condemned for it.
What’s the old adage – laughter is the best medicine?
Seriously, Ten, stick to your guns on this one, and don’t give in to poltical correctness gone mad – pun fully, and unapologetically intended.
It was bad enough when Beyond Blue went out of their way to censor a story on 60 Minutes last year, but this is so ridiculous that I’m sure 99 percent of the population will see it as a complete joke. I think people who work within certain charities devote so much time to their work that they end up developing a bit of a black and white view of things. You see this all the time with child protection groups calling for the censorship of famous artists, and anti-rape groups complaining about non-violent adult erotica. They start to think that their cause is the only worthwhile cause in the world, and that it must predominate over all other causes (including freedom of speech). Ultimately, the people this effects the most are those who want to fund suicide prevention but also support freedom of speech.
In the past I have suffered from serious depression, and find the ad really funny.
Oh dear, god I hate this sort of stuff, it’s a good ad, screw it anything we do now is offensive to somebody, me typing this message must be offensive to someone.
Humour should be outlawed! By crikey!
Does this mean that this ad is now considered a comedy success – it seems all of the greatest modern Australian Comedies offend some group of people.
Summer Heights High – Teenage Drug Deaths, Autistic Children
Kath and Kim – Boganises Suburbans
The Chaser – Do I really have to list them all?
It makes you think though about past Australian Comedies, if they were to premiere in todays society how acceptable would they be considered. Take Mother and Son for example, typically considered rather tame. But if it were to premiere now would it be slammed for trivialising alzheimer’s and dementia in the elderly?
Wow. I thought the ad was a bit stupid but never thought some people would get upset about it.
And for everyone who said “7 and 9 would never do something like this” we now know why, they have marketing and PR departments to tell them what will happen.
The problem with technology these days are the wowsers and tongue clickers are just that much quicker to react and complain…
1 teaspoon of cement please Australia!
A blessing in disguise. Perhaps now they can make a decent promo.
Lifeline looking for a freebie (but they are right unless you know people in need it’s easy to dismiss this as OTT it appears).
Ten need only to donate a check or have these “stars” do some charity work and amazingly it will all be forgotten. I bags having Miss Batthingswaite in a for session, um I mean help out raising awareness
After what they did to Supernatural and 90210 I hope this does something negative for this channel.
I hope that doesn’t mean Ten won’t show it anymore (like what happened with the KFC ad)
Australian’s biggest problem: Terrorism? No. The fact we’re turning into America. We have no sense of humour anymore. The ad was gold. All people who are offended, build a bridge and get over it.
I know mental health is a major issue in this country, but if we bury our heads in the sand and have no sense of humour about it, we’ll just continue to ignore the problem. If anything, this ad may highlight the problem a bit more, whilst having a laugh at Channel Ten celebrities in the process.
oh noes!
Good to see that the “Contact non-profits to try and create a moral outrage story” department of News Limited are earning their salaries..
So is there a list somewhere of the topics anyone Is allowed to satirise these days? It would be a short list.
I am offended all right – by Barbara whatsername from trumped up lobby group of the week who has the audacity to think she speaks for me. I have a mental illness and I don’t see anything wrong with the ad – in fact it’s bloody funny and I don’t feel trivialised or any other way impacted by it.
OMG! Where is everyone’s sense of humour gone!!
The world would be a much better place if we found it again.
Take things as they were meant and stop trying to find hidden meaning in everything – this ad and the KFC ad is case in point.
2 funny ads, no harm intended I’m sure.
it is a hilarious commercial!
The Daily Terrorgraph at it’s best.
Hahahahahah…..had to play it a few times….very funny. Good one TEN.
Mental health *is* a serious issue, and I don’t think this promo was taking aim at that or anyone affected it. My family has been touched by this issue, and it can be extremely draining and difficult for both the person and their family who live with that darkness around them. Laughter (in many forms) has been one of the best ways out of those dark times.
It makes it very difficult for anyone to be funny or say anything witty these days if you have to pre-filter it all to ensure that absolutely no-one, anywhere in the whole wide world will be offended by it.
What I find interesting in these situations (like the KFC ad too) is that the companies inevitably cave to a minority viewpoint, when the majority of their customers think it’s fine.
Get a grip people. This is a funny ad that’s not meant to offend anyone. Our comedy days are over.
@Justin: LOL. Perfect story for Today Tonight and ACA.
Wow ten would be loving this as this is the best free advertising they can get. Hopefully today tonight and ACA, which rate over 1.1 mill every night and have about 2 million viewers between them, will report on it and give ten a huge boost. Everyone will know exactly what ten have on offer this year.
And I though 2009 was the year of “Moral Outrage”. I guess Australia’s days of irreverence and excitement are over.
I’m heartily sick and tired of those few Stuffy, Politically Correct , would be good doer’s…….Go Away, you have no sense of humour and just like to cause trouble.
Ten’s promo is great and no one asked them to watch it.
What were people doing with themselves before there was moral outrage about every second thing in print or on the TV? They must have had loads of free time given the effort people spend on it these days.
I’m more concerned with the contempt that channel 10 show to their programs more then anything but hey thats just me.
Harden the F up Australia
Ch 10 better not cave and take this off because of Barbara Hocking’s comments. Soon there will be no comedy at all because everyone is too preciouse and might get there feelings hurt.
I am so sick of everyone being so easily offended these days. So so fustrating!
This is a the reason why The Daily Telegraph need to give out freebies every second week, cause nobody reads the junk they publish.
Having suffered from depression, it’s a great way of addressing the issue. I’m sick of seeing the ‘scare’ campaigns; do they really work.
Im suprised it took nearly a week for someone to bitch about the ad..
Good on the quality paper media in this country to beat up a story when they can’t find one anywhere else. Pat on the back to you.
I don’t see anything wrong with the ad.
@Newtaste: surprised to see The Australian’s Amanda Meade taking on Daily Telegraph, even though both papers are owned by News Limited.
LOL everything is stretched way too far!
Half the problems in the world could be fixed with a good laugh, but because of the PC obsessed world no one can take a joke anymore!
So has it aired and will it be pulled?
Politically Correctness garbage = here we go again!!!!!
If only those organisations could realise the fact that we are forgetting how to laugh at ourselves and that this is also contributing to people taking life too seriously and therefore not coping?
I’ve been to see a counsellor, and I know many people that have too. None of us think this degrades us or the idea of seeing a counsellor – it’s just giving us something to laugh at/about.
Ever heard the saying laughter is the best medicine?
Shane.
Get a grip
This is exactly why you can’t do ‘comedy’ in any way, shape or form in Australia, because you’ll always have some organization, person, etc slamming what ever people try to do – even if 99% of the population finds it funny.
Sounds like they need more therapy if they find every little thing offensive. They’re mocking themselves, and it’s a funny promo. Get over it and stop being so politically correct.
The Australian’s Amanda Meade on Twitter:
Daily Tele confects another TV outrage!!
Majority of commenters think the Tele story on Ten’s promo being “sick” is a silly TV beat-up.
sense if humor anybody? Get over it! its a bit of fun
This is why we can’t have anything nice.
haha, that’s awesome. But with anything there will always be something that needs to whine about something.
People need to stop being so politically correct and see things for their intended face value and stop trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill!!!
I still can’t believe how brilliant it is. Good on TEN for showing its humour again. It almost makes the celebrities relatable in a way because they’re joining together.
Brilliant stuff.
*pinches bridge of nose and shakes his head*
Seriously… people… satire… have we not heard of it before.