Somebody Think of the Children
Advertising Censorship
Billboard trolling: The Tool Shop

Billboard trolling: The Tool Shop

The Tool Shop’s “Imagine all three at once” billboard is the advertising equivalent of trolling Facebook. And where there’s a troll there’s someone taking the bait. In this case Queensland Government Minister for Women, Karen Struthers. Struthers says the wording of the ad is an explicit sexual reference that degrades women. Explicit? Hardly. Sexual? Maybe...

Nando’s ad too spicy, ASB prefers mild

I was going to include a reference to breasts in the headline, but thought it would be a little too obvious (even if on topic). Reference to peri-peri sauce on the other hand! Nando’s has run fowl of the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) again, this time over an ad for their Classic Double Breast Burger....

Coke Zero ad gives Australian Family Association a sore tooth

Coca-Cola has voluntarily taken an ad for Coke Zero off the air which features a fantasy relationship breakup (for many no doubt) starring pole dancers and scantily-clad women. Aussie media blog Mumbrella writes that the Australian Family Association has labeled the ad sexist and that the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) has received 45 complaints about...

Freeview TV ad parody disappears from YouTube

Update March 10 2009: Google Australia’s Head of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, Rob Shilkin, has revealed that YouTube received a DMCA notice from lawyers acting on behalf of Freeview Australia Limited to remove the video. Freeview Marketing Manager, Liz Howarth, yesterday denied they had made a complaint. More information at Magaret Simons’ blog and...

AMI has a new billboard. Start countdown to outrage

AMI, who recently altered their ‘Want Longer Lasting Sex’ billboards to read ‘Want Longer Lasting Censored’, will now trial a new billboard. It’ll read ‘Bonk Longer’. Jack Vaisman from AMI says it is much easier to explain the word ‘bonk’ in different meaning than the word sex. He told ABC News: “The word sex you...

Ban sexy ads: Catholics

Catholic parishioners are circulating a petition to ban ‘sexualised’ billboards and outdoor advertisements which demean women and expose children to inappropriate content. It comes after one of the petition’s organisers saw an on-car-advertisement for a carwash featuring a woman in a suggestive pose. Hose between legs perhaps? SMH writes: Matthew Restall and Bridget Spinks have...

Outrage over Cocaine energy drink, Jim Beam chips

Firstly, the Queensland Consumer Association is enraged that an energy drink called Cocaine will soon be available in Australia (it’s already in stores in the US and Britain). The association’s state secretary Max Howard said calling a drink Cocaine is just wrong and trivialising an illicit drug is unethical. He’ll seek advice from the Australian...

Van Heusen underwear ad banned: Too racy for Brisbane buses

Details are sketchy, but this advertisement for fashion label Van Heusen will not be allowed to run on the rear of Brisbane City Council buses. It’s been deemed too racy. Even us precious Brisbane folk can tolerate some clothed ass. Anyone in the CBD passes giant posters of scantily clad women daily when we walk...

Want longer lasting censored? AMI’s new billboard

Advanced Medical Institute has begun rolling out their new billboards which will read ‘Want Longer Lasting Censored?‘ AMI CEO Jack Vaisman had this to say about the change: ‘We have to comply with the Advertising Standards Bureau regulations and we decided that we would change the message and we appeal to the public through our...

What’s wrong with being offended?

If Want Longer Lasting Sex on a billboard is confronting to you, or you support the ASB’s call to remove the Advanced Medical Institute’s ads, ask yourself what’s wrong with being offended? I was discussing the billboards on Aussie tech forum Overclockers today and was surprised at the number of people who supported the ASB’s...

Longer Lasting Sex billboards sexualise children and are confronting to Australians

After 18 months of dismissing complaints against Advanced Medical Institute’s giant yellow ‘Want Longer Lasting Sex?’ billboards, the Advertising Standards Bureau has backflipped and decided that the ad not only sexualises children, but is also confronting to a large section of the community. I wish I was joking. There’s two major problems here: 1) The...

Seven vetted Olympic ads

Bob was kind enough to update us on the GetUp/Channel 7 controversy and it looks like they weren’t the only organisation shafted by the TV network during their Olympics coverage. A Wilderness Society ad relating to the Western Australian election wouldn’t be run ‘until network bosses had seen it.’ SMH writes: “Channel Seven is so...