Ireland’s Advertising Standards Authority has told the Irish Cancer Society to discontinue part of its recent ad campaign, saying that nearly 100 people complained it was offensive.
The ad campaign’s most memorable line is, “I want to get cancer.”
In the context of the commercials, the meaning was clear. For instance, one man says, “I want to get cancer… and wring its bloody neck,” while another woman wearing a lab coat says, “I want to get cancer… before it gets you.”
Find out why the Irish Cancer Society wants you to Get Cancer in 2017.#IWantToGetCancer pic.twitter.com/68Nhx7V6fi
— Irish Cancer Society (@IrishCancerSoc) January 4, 2017
The Advertising Standards Authority said it received 92 separate complaints about the campaign, claiming that the Irish Cancer Society’s use of the phrase “I want to get cancer” was “offensive, insensitive, disrespectful and upsetting to cancer survivors, current sufferers, bereaved families and those who may currently be undergoing tests or waiting on the results of the same.”
Last month, a columnist for the Irish Times slammed the ad campaign as “a disgrace,” saying it was “nothing short of sensationalistic and fear-inducing.”
In defense of its ad campaign, the Irish Cancer Society cited National Cancer Registry of Ireland statistics, noting than an average of 8,000 people died from cancer nationwide each year.
The Irish Cancer Society said it had realized the campaign might be provocative, so the organization decided to feature cancer survivors and their families in their ads, also screening them with cancer patients, survivors and families.
The ads seemed to work, the nonprofit noted, citing a “major increase in traffic to their website,” which raises awareness about cancer prevention and screening.
The Advertising Standards Authority found the ads problematic, asking the Irish Cancer Society to discontinue them. The advertisements “had not been clear as to what the individuals meant by wanting to ‘get cancer,’ and were therefore likely to cause distress to consumers,” the decision said.
The Advertising Standards Authority is a self-regulatory body, and members agree to submit to its rulings. By deadline, the Irish Cancer Society did not respond to Heat Street’s queries about whether it would cancel the advertising campaign.
