Ever think about the people in stock photography? What do they think about being used to advertise constipation medication or having their image on a poster highlighting sexually transmitted diseases? Both of these are necessery commercial and educational tools though perhaps not the pinnacle of a stock image model’s career. But what if your face was used to promote a cause that you were vehemently opposed to?
One Australian couple were dismayed to discover recently that their image was being used in the campaign against marriage equality here in Ireland.
The poster was spotted by a friend of the couple, Adam Hills, who happens to be a comedian. He posted the snap to his official page along with this caption:
“So, there is a Marriage Equality vote in Ireland at the moment, and it has all got pretty heated. Posters like these have been circulated. Unfortunately, the image in the poster is a stock photo – which means anyone can buy it and use it for whatever purpose they so desire. As it turns out, the people in this photo are friends of my wife and are appalled that their faces are being used, without their permission, to promote something they wholeheartedly disagree with. And yet there is nothing they can do about it. Regardless of how you feel about the vote – what a weird, horrible, ridiculous world we live in, in which a loving, caring, open-minded family unit can be used to advertise the very opposite of what that particular family unit believes. If any of my Irish friends see these posters, just know this – the beautiful family on that poster is all for Marriage Equality.”
So far, the post has attracted 54,129 likes and hundreds of comments.
Image via Adam Hills Facebook.
