COVID-19 vaccination advertisements ruled “misleading” by the advertising watchdog

New Zealand’s newly renamed health authority has been ordered to remove misleading multi-media advertisements about vaccinations against Covid-19.

The Advertising Standards Authority received 44 complaints on Te Whatu Ora/Health New Zealand advertisements which appeared across a range of media.

It included the text "Protect them for life. Immunise. COVID-19 vaccinations available for tamariki now".

The Board said the advertisement was misleading because it implied if you vaccinate your child against COVID-19, this could protect them for life, meaning for the rest of their life.

The print advertisement shows four images of children interacting with parents/caregivers, a child being vaccinated, a father and child walking on the beach, a father and daughter doing a high five, and a mother giving a thumbs up to her son.

The advertisement includes the New Zealand Government and Ministry of Health logos.

Complainants said there is no "life-long" protection from a COVID-19 vaccine, as implied by the advertisement.

Some complainants were also concerned the use of the word immunise" was misleading.

The advertiser defended the advertisement saying “Immunise refers to the immunisation programme as a whole-of-life programme.

The campaign was developed to cover the concept of childhood immunisations and was not specific to a single vaccine but provides overarching messaging which could be used as and when required, for example for MMR, polio, COVID-19, HPV or whooping cough vaccines.”

The advertiser said the phrase "Protect them for life. Immunise" was developed to have a dual meaning. The word 'life' can be the time between being born and death, or the experience of being alive.

The complaints Board ruled the advertisement was misleading and ordered the new health authority to remove them.