Gender stereotypes must be banned from churches as well as advertising, says Christian writer

Aug 16, 2019 by Jill

by Heather Preston, Premier:

A Christian writer who has praised the decision to ban two adverts that promote gender stereotyping says the issue needs to be addressed in our churches too.

US food company Mondelez and German carmaker Volkswagen have become the first to have their television adverts banned, under new legislation by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

A commercial for Philadelphia that showed two dads leaving a baby on a conveyor belt after getting distracted by cream cheese received some 128 complaints from viewers who said the ad perpetuated stereotypes of men as incompetent care-givers.

Volkswagen’s eGolf car advert depicted men engaging in adventurous activities in contrast to a woman in a care-giving role.

The ASA deemed both commercials to be in breach of the new rules that came into effect on 14th June, stating that ads “must not include gender stereotypes that are likely to cause harm, or serious or widespread offence”.

It did not uphold five complaints about a television ad for Nestle’s Buxton bottled water featuring a female ballet dancer, a male drummer and a male rower.

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