The Death Spot

I saw the spot above on Adfreak and had to talk about it here because I have never seen an ad promoting euthanasia before. Now, the first thing you should know is that euthanasia is illegal in Australia, where the spot aired.

I had to do a little research to find out that assisted suicide is legal in some U.S. states like Oregon, Washington and Montana. You have to realize that there is a difference between euthanasia and assisted suicide. In assisted suicide doctors are simply helping the patient carry out his or her wishes but in euthanasia the administrator or doctor is doing it for them.

Also, there are actually two places where euthanasia is legal and they are the Netherlands and Belgium.

But what was the ultimate goal of this spot? Was it to get the Australian government to change their stance on the matter? Or were they promoting some sort of service? And how did the spot get approval for airing in the first place? The ad was eventually pulled.

The spot wasn’t very creative in my opinion. The guy wanting to be euthanized didn’t look that ill. From what the woman behind him was doing in the room, he might have simply had the common cold.

Finally, the group responsible for the spot was Exit International. Anyway, let me know what you guys think.

Best,
-A.B.