Let's play?

by Eleonora Anello

At the end, even the IPA (the Italian Institute that disciplines the advertising) decided that the chess game was rigged! Maybe the verdict was not sufficiently widespread, but the spot of the Italian Nuclear Forum, that we had talked about during its broadcast, it was deemed misleading.

The authority called to monitor the advertisements says: «The ad aims to the public in the style of a neutral communication and information, as if it were a social communication. Precisely because of this, the message is flawed for lack of transparency about its promotional, about the product it aims to promote (nuclear energy and its choice), about the identity of the advertiser and its communication part. Thanks to an apparent show of impartiality with respect to the interests involved, the message uses an extremely effective persuasive technique, which is however very unfair, putting themselves therefore contrary to Article 2 of the Code, as it carries statements and representations that may mislead the public in relation to the real identity of the advertiser, and then press the promotional purposes».

To remedy this, the Forum was added enough "We are in favour”, the final words that reveal the true intentions.

Rigged or not, we consider it a Pyrrhic victory. A win all in all useless. The control machine that monitors the communication has worked, but It has been emitted when the campaign of the Forum was no longer on the air and had the opportunity to show visible its effects. The corrected and amended version of the video, can be viewed only online. In short, the sentence seems a bit 'too small compared to the effect that the spot, disguised as a social campaign, has had on target.

For this Greenpeace, an association that has fought for the campaign for nuclear to be postponed, waiting for the sentence, has not been watching. It responded with another campaign, made up of a site and a video, though very clicks on the web, did not have the space and the planning of Nuclear Forum. Salvatore Barbera, head of the anti-nuclear campaign of Greenpeace Italy, aware of the imbalance, made his request: «Given the decision of the jury, asking to broadcast our commercials on television for a true balance in the discussion on the return of nuclear in Italy. We fear, however, that will apply the strategy of silence so as not to say that in a few months there will be a referendum on nuclear power also».

The approach of the referendum has sparked a lively and tough competition in communication between the different factions. This is the case, again, to hope to win the best?