Plan B making its way into Advertising… What is Next?
ByThe issue of contraceptives remains scandalous to talk about it in the first place, but the scandal instantly grows when contraceptives are advertised on television. The only thing that could make this scandal become even bigger would be an ad for abortion, and many consider the new ads in the UK about The Morning after Pill to be pretty darn close. View the following ad:
Just two weeks ago, the pharmaceutical brand of Levonelle aired the first ever Morning after Pill advert in London. I am sure that this will surprise no one, but some rejoiced that this information was broadcasted on television while others adamantly complained that this would translate into younger girls desiring this pill and using it as their method of choice instead of a pro-active birth control method. Opponents of the advert also criticized the commercial due to their belief that it will innately lead to an increase in teen promiscuity.
While this is the first time that I know of that The Morning after Pill has been advertised on television, it is reasonable to assume that Levonelle has initiated a new trend. Birth control ads have been seen on television in the United States, but not the Morning After Pill. I thought that this was an appropriate issue, since as of two weeks ago the United States government ordered that Plan B (another name for The Morning after Pill) to be sold OTC to those 17+ (the original law was 18+).
With the Obama administration changing this law so soon in his presidential term, I think this amendment is the beginning of a new trend in the United States. In the UK, women 16+ can purchase Plan B without a prescription; do you think that America will eventually drop the age limit even more like the UK? Also, do you think that we will begin to see Plan B commercials aired on American television? If so, do you think that is going to become a controversy in the advertising world? Advertising is supposed to be socially responsible right?…But I think supporters of pro-choice, abortion, and The Morning After Pill would consider Levonelle’s ad to be socially responsible. Levonelle does prevent pregnancy, but is it safe to advertise the pill when there are so many critics and complaints about it.
6 Comments
May 8th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Wow this is interesting, I just actually learned all about this in my Human Sexuality class and how women forget to look at the side effects of these abortion pills. It is important to make the differentiation between surgical and medical abortions. Surgical abortions are ones that require hospital stays, while medical abortions are those that use drugs. There are two drugs out there right now used for this. Often times people falsley think these drugs stop conception when actually they stop gestation. This distinction is very important to consider since it separates it from emergency contraception. I do not believe these drugs should be advertised as emergency contraception because I think it lightens the idea of abortion. This commercial normalizes the morning after pill and could potentially cause women to resort to this as their main form of birth control, which I believe is irresponsible. Women need to consider that if they choose this method as advertised on TV then they are relying on a dangerous method and if they do choose this they need to look at ALL of the side effects. Additionally, the women need to consider the emotional side effects when using this. While it may not be a surgical abortion it still has weight on the female’s emotions. Do you think this is a dangerous ill to advertise?
May 8th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
That’s really interesting. I am so glad that you explained the difference between pro-active and re-active forms of birth control because I was struggling with that while writing this blog. I think that in many ways, The Morning After Pill is extremely similar to abortion because it does kill something that already exists. However, in some ways it is very different, and it is successful in preventing unwanted pregnancies. In some ways, I think this should be advertised because it can prevent people from getting abortions or from having children that they are not prepared to take care of. On the other hand, I think it is completely inappropriate to advertise this method when there are SO many pro-active forms of birth control already available. Maybe birth control should be sold OTC at US pharmacies? Overall, I think this ad doesn’t mention what the Morning After Pill actually is or the side effects like you listed above. Do you think that ads like this are going to be seen on the American TV screen soon?
May 8th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Concerning this post, I do not forsee America lowering the age of when Plan B can be purchased. Just like the drinking age, Britain still has a lower legal age for drinking than America. Plan B should not be aired on commercials although I think it soon will be aired on commercials or at least seen in magazines. My fear is that teens will start using the morning after pill as birth control which is not what it is meant for. They are two separate pills and Plan B should not be used in place of birth control.
May 8th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
I really hope not! From a moral standpoint, why don’t we start advertising about preventative practices rather than preventative drugs and pills. I just don’t understand. I see what you are saying about the pill preventing unwanted pregnancies down the line, but who are we to prevent these pregnancies. Since when do we have to rely on drugs to prevent gestation? Why don’t we encourage people to use birth control instead of plan b. Or even better all of the other forms of birth control like condoms, IUD’s etc. I think it is 100% wrong to advertise emergency contraception on tv because it normalizes early abortion practices. I know we have all had Sex Education, and most of us agree that it was awkward but there has got to be ways to make it more informative so that we would not even be considering or entertaining the idea of emergency contraception, and abortion. Do you have any ideas?
May 8th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Well, I think that there are already a lot of concerns out there about the current advertising in America of contraceptive methods like condoms and birth control. For example, the birth control company, Yaz, which is considered to be the ‘most popular choice of birth control pill’ has recently been forced to run a $20 million dollar corrective advertising campaign. They are accused of falsely claiming that Yaz also prevents PMS and acne. I also think that there has been a great amount of criticism about ads that have been shown about condoms. With so much advertising being available that “sells sex”, some of this advertising IS needed though…if done responsibly of course. Still, I agree with you Brittany in the sense that birth control and other forms of pro-active contraceptives are the clear answer of what should be advertised on television.
May 8th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I think the fact that the ad is a cartoon ads to the controversy. Not only could it arguably appeal to a younger generation because it looks like something created to appeal to children, but the animation also makes the topic of the ad seem slightly trivialized.
I agree with Brittany that the ad also serves to normalize early abortion. If we are going to have ads like this on TV I think they should have a more serious tone and should clearly appeal to adults.