New year, New look 

Welcome to our first edition of 2023. While our newsletter might look a little different, it will continue to update you on the very latest decisions by the Community Panel and provide insights from Ad Standards. If you have any feedback or ideas for topics you’d like to hear more about, let us know.

Ad Standards turns 25!

Another reason for our facelift is that 2023 marks 25 years since the establishment of Ad Standards. We started accepting complaints back in January 1998 and since that time we have handled close to 100,000 complaints and assessed thousands of ads that raised issues under the industry codes.  

While it’s difficult to predict what the next 25 years will bring, Ad Standards will remain committed to giving a voice to the community and guiding industry in making responsible ads.

An ad we say no to

A Guzman y Gomez bus ad for soft serve ice cream has breached Section 3.1 of the AANA Food and Beverages Code. Section 3.1 covers advertising (including sponsorship advertising) of occasional food targeting children.

The ad says ‘soft serve your mum says yes to!’ The Community Panel found that the product featured in the ad and the headline meant it would be significantly appealing to children.

Upheld - AANA Food and Beverages Code (Targeting children)

A little too gassed up

ATCO, an energy company, has breached the AANA Environmental Claims Code by making misleading and deceptive claims on a flyer distributed to households in Perth advertising natural gas. The flyer said that natural gas is better for the environment and produces “70% less greenhouse gas”.

The Community Panel considered that the claim is misleading as the claim implied that gas produced 70% less greenhouse gas than the household’s supplier while in fact there are other energy sources available which produce less greenhouse gas than natural gas.

Upheld - AANA Environmental Claims Code (Truthful & factual) 

Shifting sands

A TV ad that features a Ram Ute driving over sand dunes has breached the FCAI Motor Vehicle Advertising Code for portraying unsafe driving along with deliberate and significant environmental damage.

The Community Panel considered that if a non-professional driver attempted to drive across sand dunes in the same manner as in the ad it could lead to an accident.

The Community Panel also considered that the ad encouraged driving on beaches and sand dunes in an aggressive manner which would be against community standards on driving and the environment.

Upheld - FCAI Code (Unsafe driving & Environmental damage)

Hungry for more? Check out these recently published decisions

• SEPL (Smokemart) - Upheld | Language & Sex/Sexuality/Nudity
• Wicked Campers - Upheld | Discrimination or Vilification & Sex/Sexuality/Nudity
• Universal Pictures - Dismissed | Violence
• Apple - Dismissed | Language & Health and Safety
• Amazon - Upheld | Health and Safety

Find all the latest decisions at adstandards.com.au/cases

New Community Panel members

We’re pleased to have welcomed nine new faces (and voices) to the Ad Standards Community Panel. The new Community Panel members represent a broad range of backgrounds and experiences. They will join sixteen other Community Panel members who meet regularly to consider complaints about advertising and to determine whether advertising aligns with community standards and Australia’s advertising rules.  

Find out more about all the Ad Standards Community Panel members here.