The Advertising Code Commission (RCC) received at least ten complaints about the campaign, which turned out to be a stunt by Aidsfonds. In this way, the organization wanted to draw attention to people living with HIV, who are excluded from appropriate care in some countries.
Trust is shattered
Fake “Selectivia Zorgverzekeringen” commercials can be heard on the radio and seen on social media and in newspaper advertisements. When it was not yet clear that Aidsfonds was behind this, NZA announced that it would launch an investigation.
With today’s knowledge, the NHS describes it as “very harmful for consumer confidence to be damaged in this way”. The authority says it will take action against this, although its spokesperson could not yet say exactly how to do so.
The spokesperson added, “We sympathize with the attention they are seeking, but this is not the way.” She describes the course of events as “very strange” and notes that many people are orienting themselves to a new health insurance policy, especially at this time. Hence, reliable information is of great importance, she says.
NZa has received several complaints, says the spokesperson.
He spreads lies
The editor-in-chief of De Volkskrant, Peter Kluck, in which the advertisement was printed, is unhappy with the situation. Klock calls it “the concern that an advertiser is spreading lies to get attention.”
“We regret,” Klok said on his newspaper’s website that the ad had not been intercepted. He described combating disinformation as one of our most important tasks.
On social media, some people have reacted angrily to the campaign, especially if they think Selectivia already exists. Others soon realized the insurance company was fake. For example, the company is not registered in the commercial register and Zorgverzekeraars Nederland has never been heard of. Former VVD deputy Arno Roth also smelled danger:
The case can also be pursued with the Ad Code Commission. The committee, which assesses complaints about misleading ads, has not yet decided whether to hold a hearing.
Tired of fighting
Aidsfonds explains in a reply that it takes a lot of effort to get the message across. “In the meantime, people are tired of epidemics and epidemics. We have to fight threefold to spread awareness of the fight against AIDS and to get AIDS out of the world.”
The organization says it has therefore approached the campaign in a different way. The fund also says it will enter talks with New Zealand soon.
