A man has filed a complaint with Canada’s broadcast standards council about a Saskatchewan Party election ad he says sends subliminal messages.
Joel Scott said the ad titled “NDP Caught Red Handed” shows party leader Dwain Lingenfelter against a backdrop that looks like splattered blood.
Scott says the image, audio and words leave the viewer with a subconscious impression that Lingenfelter is a criminal with blood on his hands.
Scott is an NDP supporter, but said he filed the complaint because he works in production and knows how ads can be manipulated.
The standards council said its job is to talk to broadcasters – not to deal with whoever produced the content.
The Saskatchewan Party won’t comment on a complaint it hasn’t seen, but said the ad received approval from the Television Bureau of Canada.
