An anti-vaccination group plans to appeal the ASA's decision on a billboard

An anti-vaccination group plans to appeal a decision by the Advertising Standards Authority that one of its billboards violates advertising standards.

The billboard in question was an advertisement for Waves NZ, erected over Auckland's South Highway, showing a picture of a man wearing a Maori-inspired tattoo on the arm and holding a baby.

Beside the picture were the words: "If you knew the ingredients of a vaccine, would you risk it?"

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has received nearly 150 complaints about the billboard, calling advertising misleading, misleading, alarmist and socially irresponsible, knowing that convincing people not to vaccinate is harmful to children and the public. society in general.

The owners of billboards told ASA that the advertisement had been installed without going through the usual validation process. If they had correctly followed it, it would not have been installed.

The commission concluded that the advertisement was also misleading, the message likely to suggest that the vaccination was not sure is not "sufficiently substantiated" by the advertiser, its advertising "played out so unjustified on fear "and was" socially irresponsible ".

The board accepted the complaints, finding that the advertisement violated several rules of its code of ethics.

Waves NZ argued that she saw no reason for the advertisement to violate the ASA Code of Ethics, stating that its intention was to promote "informed consent" and to indicate to the parents MedSafe data sheets on its website.

Despite this, Waves NZ has announced its intention to appeal the ruling, stating that "the public has the right to access information on the ingredients of the vaccine." NZ Waves says the implied risk is easily checked".

"Waves NZ encourages all people to read the attached data sheets and search for the contents of a vaccine by themselves before making a choice and giving consent.

"Waves NZ sincerely thanks Aotearoa for the support given to the group since October 1, when the billboard was installed near a ramp that is frequented by a freeway."