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Message: [QUOTE="Organix, post: 3408572, member: 8187"] This thread has really gone on an interesting tangent, but I love the debate. IMO, as [USER=1928]@Renegade[/USER] pointed out, all advertising exists to inspire people to buy into something they really don't need. I mean, you don't see ads for tap water. I personally get a severe hankering for KFC on a Friday night during the game. It's pervasive. In terms of Haas speaking out about it, I think it does seem hypocritical, but most movements and societal changes came from vocal individuals speaking out about issues from a platform. I don't like that celebrities exist, but if they use their platform for objectively positive societal change, I think that is better than nothing. However, as others have pointed out, it should be the right of the individual to make those decisions for oneself. Smoking is directly impactful on third parties, and so the concessions made around where one can smoke without harming someone else is fair IMO. The issue with all these personal choices is informed decision making and balanced portrayal of facts. Drinking and gambling are social activities. They are ingrained in our society and are openly public actions people can engage in. When drinking is normalised in advertising it is fair because it is representative of current society. However, so is abstinence from alcohol and this should be given equal weight. For example, for every advertisement showing the positive aspects of drinking or gambling, there should be, in the same ad break, one which shows fairly the negative aspects. Drunken brawls, vomiting and chronic sickness, misbehaviour with drinking. For gambling, the losses and chasing them, the sadness of seeing grandma punching the pokie as she wittles away her savings alone. It is in this way that children are better able to see both sides of the coin, because currently it isn't so. It is also in this way that parents are forced to engage in those conversations with their children, because a lot of the time they're kept pretty busy and so it's easier not to. We do normalise drinking now, far more than gambling, and I think this is easily shown by people's responses here. But if gambling ads continue to be shown with such regularity, tipping competitions continue to be promoted by sports (supercoach, for example) then it will become quite normalised and not seen to be such a big deal to see a group of people at the pub drinking and gambling. So, while Haas probably is being hypocritical in his asking for these sponsors to be removed (especially saying it's because they're essentially coming in with money to ingratiate themselves), I do think it is good that he raises the topic. What I dislike is that he conflates it with religion, or brings religion into the subject. Especially when he seems to objectify money and also sees being a sporting star as a good societal contribution. It really rubs on my secular sensibilities, because one could come to the same conclusions with good teaching, self-reflection and some logical processing. If religion does that for him, that is great, but he is essentially advertising for religion here in a similar way. All positives, no negatives. Informed choices, people. You can all make them as adults, because you have a lifetime of education, whether it's first-hand or otherwise. Children, however, do not. Won't someone please think of the children!! [/QUOTE]

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