Bulletin

June 2021  #132

Most complained about ads to 30 June 2021

Our mid-year report on the most complained about ads in Australia highlights community concern across a range of social issues including discrimination and vilification, unsafe driving and health and safety concerns in advertising content - as well as the high level of industry compliance.

More info is available in the latest blog post on the Ad Standards website.

Stereotypes hit wok-bottom

Complaints about the use of negative stereotypes in a radio ad narrating a man’s attempt to cook a stir fry using a wok have been dismissed by the Ad Standards Community Panel.

The Panel acknowledged that the beginning of the ad leaned into the negative stereotype of men not knowing how to cook, however considered that it quickly became clear that the man was keen and able to cook and was not treated unfairly because of his gender.

Three-in-one  

Three versions of an ad for an insurance company depicting a bossy aunt chastising her niece and a woman wanting to swap her stolen piano for her husband have been cleared of breaches of the discrimination and vilification Section of the AANA Code of Ethics.

The Community Panel determined that the men and women shown in the ads didn’t receive unfair or less favourable treatment because of their gender.
Two of the three ads were also considered under the Language (2.5) and Health and safety (2.6) Sections.

Vilification is the name of the game

Complaints lodged with Ad Standards about the racist name of a Kenyan athlete character in a betting ad have been upheld by the Community Panel, with the advertiser modifying the ad in response to the determination.

The Community Panel found that the Kenyan athlete’s name mocked the pronunciation of some Kenyan names and was vilifying of the woman by humiliating and inciting ridicule of her and all Kenyans based on their names, noting that these kind of jokes were well past their use by dates.

You can find all Ad Standards Community Panel determinations on the website at AdStandards.com.au/cases

New submission to the ISO

Ad Standards has provided a response to Standards Australia about the International Standards Organisation’s (ISO) newly proposed ‘Guidance for Advertising and Marketing Affecting Children’.

To read the full submission, visit AdStandards.com.au.