A recent commercial highlighting private health insurance featuring a lesbian couple kissing and two men (in a same sex relationship, with a child) really turned me off. It came across as a way to get some people into expensive private health insurance.

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2016/02/08/medibank-celebrated-controversial-ad

Who is paying for this? Two examples:

1. The costs of this commercial paid for by Medibank Private
2. An LGBTI community grant costing Medibank Private $10,000

http://www.medibank.com.au/About-Us/Media-Centre-Details.aspx?news=602

If people want to be part of a same sex relationship (I'm not against that), but Private Health insurers, doing things like this is a disgusting waste of money.

//It came across as a way to get some people into expensive private health insurance.//

That is generally the point of advertising.

//Who is paying for this?//

Medibank Private Ltd.

//If people want to be part of a same sex relationship (I'm not against that), but Private Health insurers, doing things like this is a disgusting waste of money.//

If advertising is such a waste of money, why do so many companies do so much of it? And why do companies that advertise heavily, like McDonald's, do so well? I don't like advertising either, but it can be effective at generating profits so it isn't necessarily a waste of money.

Nathan,

Members (like me) pay for it. It's a private organsation. It's a totally unnecessary ad. Weirdos are entitled to private health cover, by dint of common sense and discrimination laws. As Medibank Private should know this, and they don't have a clue about the peculiarities of their members (they just take their money), the commercial is a stupid waste of members' money.I expect that Medibank Private will be directly chastised by many of its members. Personally, I'm becoming immune to human stupidity - it is almost the norm.

Ttbn "Members (like me) pay for it. It's a private organsation. It's a totally unnecessary ad. Weirdos are entitled to private health cover, by dint of common sense and discrimination laws"
If they let 'weirdos' like you take their money ttbn, then why not anyone else?

Medibank Private is a business like any other, and they rightly couldn't care less who their customers live with, as long as they pay their premiums.
Apart from obvious homophobia by the usual suspects on this forum, I don't see anything wrong with this advert at all.

Dear Nathan,

By not having a television I manage to avoid seeing that or any other advertisement.

However, if I become aware that someone is advertising, how more so if they attempt to advertise at me, then I make a tick to try to avoid their products and services. In my accounts, your post has thus placed a demerit point against Medibank Private.

If you are to use the products or services of someone who advertises, then you can be sure that some of your money went into advertising rather than into the quality of the product or service that you were interested in: why pay for something you don't want? why pay for something that injures others by seducing them to part with their money?

Suseonline:

“Apart from obvious homophobia by the usual suspects on this forum”

They might be homophobic but at least they are not fascist. Only fascists try to silence their opponents by using derogatory labels in the hope that such bullying will make them remain silent.

If I were homosexual I know which people I would prefer to be in power.