Or is the BBC sending out the wrong message with the latest TV licence advert 'you don't have to do everything at once.'
I've been meaning to post about this for a while but keep forgetting until the advert is aired again on the BBC.
'All at once', which launched in mid-June, shows a young couple’s relationship unfolding from start to end in one conversation - from meeting, through marriage, having children, to divorce in under 90 seconds. The punch line 'you don't have to do it all at once' clearly relates to the purchase of the annual TV licence. But what message does the scenario chosen to represent 'doing things all in one go' give to the viewer?
The implication of the story is clearly that marriage ends in break up and divorce sooner or later. This message is at best false, and at worst malicious, undermining the successful efforts of many to live in faithfulness together.
The implied message 'divorce is the normal end of a marriage' niggles. Nay, it more than niggles, it makes me angry. Divorce statistics may make gloomy reading but they do not promote the easy way out of marital problems as this advert does.
What do you think?
