Think Contraception TV ads

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podgerodge

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Those Think Contraception TV ads seem to be on every ad break tonight - how much money is being spent on this crap? They are run by the Crisis Pregnancy Agency - another bloody quango - who spend money coming out with statements, and I quote, like:


"Large-scale research commissioned by the Agency, has shown that among 18 – 25 year olds, 26% did not report consistent use of contraception in the last year"

Wow, I'm bowled over.

I visited the website - more money spent on that. I can see them all self-congratulating themselves over their good work.

According to their 2007 report "In 2007, the Agency made great strides in the area of
improving knowledge about relationships and sexuality among adolescents through home-, school and community-based education."

So, did crisis pregnancies drop in 2007? If they made "great strides" I assume so? But no figures here to back it up...

"In 2007, the ‘Think Contraception’ website received 58,646 visits." 'Visits' not defined of course. I cynically think of 55,000 bots from North America.

"Research undertaken in December 2007 found that 75% of the target audience was aware of the ‘Think Contraception’ campaign and its message, “No matter where or when,
Think Contraception”. 77% agreed that the ‘Think Contraception’ campaign makes people more likely to think about or plan for the use of contraception."

Great then. The problem of unwanted pregnancy must be nearly solved by now.


Sorry, just think the whole thing is a waste of taxpayers money. (excl support given to people with crisis pregnancies)
 
I would have to disagree with you on that one Podgerodge...I know that a lot of research findings seem 'obvious' to most people but to many others they are not obvious. I was completely bowled over last week when my sister told me a story about her friend who recently discovered that she was pregnant (21 years of age). Her friend was shocked to discover that her pregnancy would be 9 months long, and not six months as she had thought. This girl came through our school system, did fairly well, and yet did not know this basic fact. So I'm all for education programmes that impart material which might be very obvious to the majority but just might target those whose knowledge is not what it should be. I have done some work with young people and while I am constantly amazed at the amount they know, I am also amazed about the basic things they don't know (particularly in the area of STIs). So the more education the better as far i'm concerned.
 
podgerodge said:
Those Think Contraception TV ads seem to be on every ad break tonight - how much money is being spent on this crap? They are run by the Crisis Pregnancy Agency - another bloody quango - who spend money coming out with statements, and I quote, like:


"Large-scale research commissioned by the Agency, has shown that among 18  25 year olds, 26% did not report consistent use of contraception in the last year"

Wow, I'm bowled over.

I visited the website - more money spent on that. I can see them all self-congratulating themselves over their good work.

According to their 2007 report "In 2007, the Agency made great strides in the area of
improving knowledge about relationships and sexuality among adolescents through home-, school and community-based education."

So, did crisis pregnancies drop in 2007? If they made "great strides" I assume so? But no figures here to back it up...

"In 2007, the Think Contraception website received 58,646 visits." 'Visits' not defined of course. I cynically think of 55,000 bots from North America.

"Research undertaken in December 2007 found that 75% of the target audience was aware of the Think Contraception campaign and its message, No matter where or when,
Think Contraception. 77% agreed that the Think Contraception campaign makes people more likely to think about or plan for the use of contraception."

Great then. The problem of unwanted pregnancy must be nearly solved by now.


Sorry, just think the whole thing is a waste of taxpayers money. (excl support given to people with crisis pregnancies)
Click to expand...
It must be great to be an armchair expert after spending 5 minutes reading the website.
 
Complainer said:
It must be great to be an armchair expert after spending 5 minutes reading the website.
Click to expand...

Helpful contribution there complainer. Interesting and frightening comment there lou2 but i think the money could b spent on better things than endless research and reports..
 
Contraception adverts on the TV and Viagra adverts non stop on RTE Radio 1. Romantic Ireland is dead and gone, I it is with O'Leary in the grave.
 
I'm 26 and the extent of my sex education at school was a talk about periods when we were 15 and a talk from some born again virgin canadian people when we were in leaving cert (when 2 people in the year were pregnant). I think these ads are a start but it really needs to be done in schools. I'd gladly go into a school and tell girls exactly what its like to be pregnant and give birth and have a baby and see if that might wake them up a bit.
 
I wonder have these ads anything to do with the rumours prior to the Budget of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency's impending abolition? Sounds like as good a way as any of blowing an unspent budget in a hurry.

sandrat said:
I'm 26 and the extent of my sex education at school was a talk about periods when we were 15 and a talk from some born again virgin canadian people when we were in leaving cert (when 2 people in the year were pregnant). I think these ads are a start but it really needs to be done in schools. I'd gladly go into a school and tell girls exactly what its like to be pregnant and give birth and have a baby and see if that might wake them up a bit.
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You're 100% right there.
 
ubiquitous said:
I wonder have these ads anything to do with the rumours prior to the Budget of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency's impending abolition? Sounds like as good a way as any of blowing an unspent budget in a hurry.
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I'd have thought that TV time would need to be booked well in advance? I don't recall seeing these ads before, so I'm guessing that they have been produced this year.

On the broader issue, I get a little tired of armchair experts claiming to know better than those who spend their working lives in the area. I know SFA about crisis pregnancies (fortunately), but I know enough not to assume that my own personal likes or dislikes are gospel. The comment about " did crisis pregnancies drop in 2007?" displays a certain lack of understanding of social issues. This would only be a fair measure of the effectiveness of this agency if everything else in the world stood still over the year, i.e. no changes in cost/availability of alcohol and drugs, no increase in pregnancies for high-profile celeb role models, no change in cost/availability of contraception etc. There could well be increases or decreases in the pregnancy rate which have absolutely nothing to do with the effectiveness of the agency.

If you want to criticise, do a bit of serious comparative research, rather than just nitpicking at a few statements on their website.
 
Complainer said:
I'd have thought that TV time would need to be booked well in advance? I don't recall seeing these ads before, so I'm guessing that they have been produced this year.
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The problem with the government finances and the risk of quango cutbacks have both been well flagged in the media for several months at this stage.
 
ubiquitous said:
The problem with the government finances and the risk of quango cutbacks have both been well flagged in the media for several months at this stage.
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True, though the merging of this particular agency seemed to be a bit of a surprise to anyone in that sector that I've spoken to, given the chaos at the HSE.
 
Contraception protects from more than just unwanted pregnancy.
I agree 100% that sex education should start in school but that's not to say these ads are a waste of money.
 
I know nothing about the Crisis Pregnancy group and as to whether or not it is good value for money , I can't comment. However, if those ads help people to think contraception, then I think they are worth every penny.
I hate to sound like my mother, but the facts are that unwanted pregnancies cause much more bother to women than men. Yes, of course there are great single fathers out there , however , for many girls and young women , its the end of freedom as they knew it. Rearing children on your own is a hard life even with family and state support. So to a television/internet generation , these type of ads might have an impact. And if as a result, unwanted pregnancies are reduced , they will be worth every penny.
 
Purple said:
Contraception protects from more than just unwanted pregnancy.
I agree 100% that sex education should start in school but that's not to say these ads are a waste of money.
Click to expand...

Totally agree.

Just have a read of some of the frequent questions about STDs which appear on www.boards.ie. The STI Clinics in Ireland thread has been viewed over 91,000 times and the last question asked is only two days old.

TBH I also think some of these campaigns should be aimed at older people. I remember being bowled over when someone (single and in his late 40s at the time) told me that his biggest fear would be getting a woman pregnant as he didn't want to be paying out for a child! When I asked him if he was concerned about STDs he retorted that if he hadn't caught anything by now he never would....yet his ideal contraceptive method with practical strangers was the 'safe period'.

Is ignorance really bliss? :rolleyes:
 
I have no problem with the Contraception ads. There is obviously a huge deficit of information in the area. Parents should not depend on schools to do the embarrassing stuff for them. I have four children and many years ago my eldest who was about eight at the time, ran in exciteidly (?sp.) holding what he called a big balloon!!! There and then I sat them all down and told them all in simple terms about condoms / sexually transmitted diseases/ pregnancy prevention etc. They were in awe, and since then we frequently discuss STI's, the use of condoms regardless of what contraception a woman is using and unwanted pregancy.
 
I do have a problem with the ads.

1st, the timing. I think they are on too early. I couldn't tell you what the threshold is, but both my kids 4 and 7 were watching TV recently when the ads came on.

2nd, the content. Why is it that someone someone snogging (1st base) should be made feel that contraception should be on their mind because they are heading inevitably to 3rd or 4th base.

I've no problem with ads highlighting the need to consider contraception, but why make it seem like an obvious oversight if you failed to bring one with you when going for a bag of chips.

Could it be that the ad would have the opposite effect to that intended?
 
I often wondered, what if you made ill informed, half assed comments about furniture designed for one person - would you still be called an "armchair expert" ?
 
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