Hopes and Fears

The Australian same-sex marriage postal survey was a controversial, hard-fought and often emotionally draining process that culminated in a resounding victory for the ‘Yes’ vote. On the frontline of both campaigns’ strategies were their television advertisements, which sought to capture the zeitgeist, change minds and maximise voter participation. PETER QUINN looks at three commercials from each campaign, and analyses their message, overall approach and effectiveness.

Investigation into how hotly contested and debated topics play out in the media provides the ideal backdrop for a textual analysis of issue-oriented advertising, such as that which was shown over the course of the Australian same-sex marriage postal survey. The tactics behind social-issue ads are carefully orchestrated and executed, and, ultimately, their reception will be a significant determinant of a campaign’s success.

A process aimed at gauging the nation’s prevailing attitudes regarding same-sex marriage, as a precursor to a parliamentary vote on whether the law should be changed to permit it, the postal survey initially met strong opposition from some marriage equality campaigners, who sought to have it declared illegitimate by the High Court. Once this challenge failed, however, each side – the pro-change ‘Yes’ camp, represented by The Equality Campaign, and the opposing ‘No’ camp, represented by the Christian-affiliated Coalition for Marriage – devoted substantial resources towards winning the public over to its view. The end result proved a decisive victory for LGBTQIA+ rights advocates, and evidence of a dramatic shift in Australia’s attitudes towards same-sex marriage over a relatively short period of time.

The outcome of the survey, however, is not