Bulletin

 Issue #148

Not effing appropriate

A food and beverage delivery company’s YouTube ad raised concerns about the use of offensive language. This ad began with a woman speaking about the attributes of the company and how the ordering process works. She is shown making a deliver a to house, with the person answering the door exclaiming "f*ck that was fast"!

The Community Panel considered that the use of the swearing was irrelevant and unnecessary. The Panel considered that the language could have easily been beeped out, or the f-word could have been replaced with another word like “effing”. The ad was found to breach Section 2.5 (Language) of the AANA Code of Ethics. 

Making a splash

A TV ad for an online retailer featured swan-shaped floatation devices at the beach. The ad makes it look like the swans are in the water, but ends by zooming out and showing that the floaties are being held by people on the sand.

The complainant was concerned that taking novelty flotation devices to the beach was dangerous.

The Panel noted that there is a high level of community concern around beach and water safety in Australia, however considered that the ad was highly stylised to look like the inflatable products were performing in a ballet. The overall impression of the ad was not that people should take these products and use them in the ocean. The complaint was dismissed.

Things fall apart

An insurance company’s ad features a man named Julio driving his newly fixed car out of a cheap looking body shop.  As he drives on a secluded road, his car starts to fall apart.

The ad raised concerns about being offensive and derogatory towards Spanish and Latino Australians and that it perpetuates the idea that non-white people are cheaper and make bad decisions.

The Panel noted that in different versions of the ad the Julio character is depicted after other characters who had made similar mistakes, who were not Hispanic. The Panel considered that the ad does not make reference to Julio’s cultural background, and there is no suggestion that he bought cheaper insurance because of it. The complaint was dismissed.

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

AANA review of the Environmental Claims Code underway

The AANA has launched a major review of the Environmental Claims Code. We encourage you to have your say about the rules that apply to environmental claims in advertising. Submissions to the review are open until Friday 24 February 2023.  

ABAC alcohol marketing compliance audit

ABAC has just released the findings of its alcohol marketing compliance audit. This audit checks that advertisers are following the ABAC Responsible Alcohol Marketing Code on social media. While very few non-age restricted alcohol ads were detected, there is still room for improvement.