'Californication' - sleaze on
TV
STATUS: Series completed October
2007
_________________________________
The name says it all
- the focus on this four part 'comedy/drama' currently being screened by Channel
10 is sex. The program, which began on Monday night,
27 August 2007, is all about sex - and pornography! The Herald Sun reported "The first episode of the racy comedy featured four sex scenes -- one involving violence and
statutory rape (sex with a teenage girl) -- copious nudity, teenage drug use
and constant foul language in its 32 minutes."
In the USA the
series was made and screened by 'Showtime' - a pay TV company.
Here it is being shown on 'free-to-air' TV. That is a very different
situation!
The series ran for 12 weeks,
so is now OVER! [But another series is being produced in the
USA!]
However, ACMA is still to hand down its decision on whether the
program breached the braodcasting guidelines, so we will leave this as an 'active' campaign until
then!
15 October 2007: Good News - The Australian
Communications and Media Authority has agreed to investigate complaints made
against the program to see if it breached the code of practice. Unfortunately
this may take them several months! The system needs to be
changed.
_________________________________________
Advertisers withdraw ads - Good News!
Salt Shakers and other Christian groups -
including Festival of Light and the Australian Christian Lobby
- have been asking advertisers if they are aware their ad was
shown on the program and asking them not to have their ads on the program.
SIXTY-FOUR companies have now said they have
asked Channel 10 NOT to show their ads during the program. Thank
you!
The companies
are Holden, Holeproof, Spotlight, Arnotts (ads for Tim Tams and
Campbell's V8 Juice), Telstra, Panasonic, Johnson & Johnson (Benadryl,
Listerine), the Department of Employment and Workplace
Relations,
Net Alert, IKEA, Bunnings, Coopers Brewery,
Bank SA, Cash Converters, Baby Love Nappies, Hardie Grant Books (publisher of
Antarctica by Jason Kimberley), Bridgestone, Aussie
Home Loans, Mitre 10, GE Money, ACTEW AGL, WOW Sight and Sound, GlaxoSimthKline
(ads for Macleans and Polident ), Perth Royal Show, Nestle (Milo), Snooze
(formerly Capt'n Snooze), Toowoomba Special Vehicles, Gladstone Marine Centre
and Cooper Mackenzie Marketing, Clark Rubber and CE Office Concepts.
The latest companies to ask Channel 10 NOT to show their
ads in the program are: AAMI, Woolworths, Chemist Warehouse, A D^Zign, Highland
Fling Restaurant (both Toowoomba), Bluescope Steel and S C Johnson (who had ads
in the early episodes for Duck Magic Scrub (Melb, 10/9), Windex Window Cleaner
(Adelaide 3/9), Duck Liquid Toilet Cleaner (WA, 3/9), Glade Clean and Pure (WA,
3/9).), Fernwood Women's Health Clubs, Colgate-Palmolive, Autobarn, Dr Tims,
Price Attack, Gosford Quarries, Steve Forde tour, – Bundaberg brewed drinks, Big
W, Ezy DVD, General Mills (Old El Paso), Colorific, Skippy's Early Learning
Centre, Kimberley Clark (Huggies nappies), Mutual Community Health Insurance
(SA), Fantastic Furniture, Volvo and The Chronicle (Toowoomba).
The latest (up to 15 Nov 2007) are Simplot
(Leggos Pasta Sauce), Mt Barker Chicken (WA), Nads (LifeSource Group Pty Ltd),
Myer, Kellogg’s, Health World – Inner Health, Toowoomba City Council
(Waterwise), Crazy John’s (mobile phones).
Other companies have told us
they told Channel 10 not to screen their ads but asked not to be listed! Other
companies have only had one ad - although they didn't reply they had no further
ads.
Some more interesting developments
include:
* Some of the companies say they have a 'Code of
Conduct' and say this program doesn't match their Code of Conduct.
* Others
say it is against their family values as a company...
* Some advertising
agencies are now advising their clients (companies) not to advertise on the
show...
Consistent repeat advertisers
who justified their ads on the basis of
demographics - who is watching the show - include Pure Blonde (Fosters), Reckitt
Benckiser (home cleaning products), Procter & Gamble (shampoos etc), Ferrero
(Kinda chocolate), Hungry Jacks, Nova, Hyundai, Coca Cola and Ashley &
Martin, Schick (EAPL) and Dixon Homes.
What products do you buy???
Status Update: The first series of 12 programs
finished on 12 November 2007.
Thank you to all who contacted the companies.
And thank you to all the companies who decided they did not
want their ads on this
show!
___________________________________
A description of the program
and suggested action for the campaign is listed below for your
information.
Andrew Bolt
, writing in the Herald Sun, called
the show pornographic and said the men who run Channel 10 (Executive Chairman
Peter Falloon and Chief Executive Grant Blackley) are 'pornographers' for
showing the series. A link to his article is below.
The program was
rated MA15+ and advertised for 'adults' and was shown after 9.30 pm (at 9.45
pm). However there are many teens still watching TV who would be exposed to the
program.
Was there a
story line?
It seems the character is fed up with his life and is
looking for meaning away from all the sex - but the program then shows all the
sex!
For
Christians, an additional offensive factor is that the first episode began with a scene showing a dream where
the leading character is having sex with a nun in a
church.The producers would not have denigrated
Islam (or any other religion) in such a way.
Several family and Christian groups have complained about
the program. Salt Shakers and Festival of Light and Salt
Shakers have been co-ordinating the campaign to contact
advertisers.
Various media articles are
linked in this page.
Some INVITE YOUR COMMENTS.... and you
can comment on Andrew Bolt's blog about his column.
ACTION is vital...
S ee the Action section towards the end of the page - for
writing to Channel 10 and the companies whose ads appear on the show.
______________
First some Updates:
Update: 5 September - 'Californication' continues...
Catholics and others in Sydney have held candlelight vigils
outside Channel 10 in Sydney while the show is being broadcast.
Some Christian groups have called for a
boycott of advertisers. Channel 10 says it has not affected them - no
advertisers have withdrawn... However we know that a company whose ads were
shown during the program in South Australia have said they will not have their
ads shown during the show. Thank you to all of you
who acted on this!
Media Articles:
Calls for
boycott of vomit-laden 'Californication'
Nine MSN. Tuesday Sep 4
2007.
Californication
'OK with advertisers'
The Australian, 5/9/2007.
Update: 6
Sept 2007 Contacting
advertisers
Last week we asked you to write to
Holden and Holeproof whose ads were on the
first episode of 'Californication' in Melbourne.
Good news! The media has reported that their ads have
been WITHDRAWN!
Today we have sent out by email a full list of
advertisers in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth and some from Sydney.
Even the Daily Telegraph phoned companies to see what they
thought - most were unaware their ads appeared and some were NOT happy!!!
Advertisers
withdraw after Californication chastised
Daily Telegraph, 6 Sept
2007
Holden and Holeproof withdraw ads from Californication. Other
companies contacted by the DT are NOT happy!
Ads
pulled on Ten's risque new show
The Australian, Nicola Berkovic |
September 05, 2007
"NERVOUS advertisers have distanced
themselves from the Ten Network's risque new hit series Californication, which
has prompted religious groups to threaten a boycott of companies sponsoring the
show. Holden and Holeproof, which had advertisements placed by the network
during the first episode screened last Monday, said they would ask Ten not to
use their ads on the program again...."
Advertisers shocked by
'Californication'
Nine, 6 Sept 2007.
"Advertisers for a
children's movie are among several companies shocked their commercials have
appeared during Network 10's raunchy sitcom
Californication...."
Update: 13 September - More advertisers
withdraw
There are now twenty-three
companies who have withdrawn from the show. Full list above.
A
list of all the advertisers in Melbourne and some other states - for 3 and 10
September - is attached below. Just open the document and contact the companies
- check the 'Success' list before you
write!
________________________________________
What can
we do?
Take
ACTION!
1. Write to Channel
10
Ask them not to
show the rest of this program.
Click here for the program
website.
Click here for the
list of contact addresses for Channel 10.
Phone the station
nearest you and complain - then send a letter (no emails
available).
The website above
explains the Code of Conduct and complaint process.
This is run by
FreeTV - Click here
for their website for the actual Code of Practice.
2. Write letters to the
newspapers
Comment on the explicit
sexual nature of the program and its attack on Christianity.
Click here for email addresses for newspaper
letters.
3. Write to
the advertisers on the program
Write to ALL advertisers - on 6 September we sent out lists of advertisers in
Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Sydney. We have also done lists of
advertisers for the show on 10 September. These are
attached BELOW.
Please open the documents
and contact the companies! Politely ask them if they knew their company was advertising
during this program.
Tell them about your concerns about the program
and ask them NOT to advertise on future programs as it is their MONEY that
enables the TV station to show the program.
See the attached lists for
the companies and their contact details...
4. Contribute to the Channel 10
FORUM
Channel 10
has a FORUM about the program 'Californication' on the Channel 10 website.
Click here.
Media Articles:
Californication shocks TV viewers
Article from: Herald Sun, Nikki Protyniak and Darren
Devlyn, August 29, 2007
This includes a FORUM where you can make
comments.
How
low can we go?
Andrew Bolt, Herald
Sun, 29 August 2007.
[WARNING: This article contains graphic language of a
sexual nature]
Add your
comments as well... Author: Jenny Stokes | Modified: 11 June 2008 |
