Hallensteins 'dumb whore' ad lyrics offensive - ASA

File photo / NZ Herald

A Hallensteins advertisement, with the lyrics "dumb whore" in the backing track, "was likely to cause serious offence" when it aired during The Princess Diaries 2, the Advertising Standards Authority has found.

The advertisement, for Hallensteins' "Brothers" clothing range, included Infinity Guitars by the band Sleigh Bells as the soundtrack with the lyrics: "Deaf chords, dead ends, sling set can't meet their demands, dumb whores, best friends."

The complainant, G. Rusbatch, was "disgusted by those words under any circumstances", but more so when they were played during the G-rated film The Princess Diaries 2, which screened at 8.30pm on TV2, on December 30.

The agency who made the ad, Publicis Mojo Auckland, apologised for the placement, saying the advertisement was scheduled to be screened during Motorway Patrol, not Princess Diaries 2.

"We obviously would not have placed the ad in Princess Dairies as it is not applicable to our target audience," the agency said.

Publicist Mojo Auckland added the lyrics would be unlikely to be understood unless someone is specifically trying to decipher them.

"The soundtrack was chosen for its instrumental qualities and the lyrics form part of the background noise but are not specifically audible."

"We believe that the ad, music track and lyrics have been designed to work in unison and that to take the lyrics out as a specific element is misleading. We also believe that the lyrics would not be offensive to the core target market of 18 - 24 year old males."

In its decision the Advertising Standards Authority noted that in a survey conducted in 2009, the word "whore" was ranked 13 out of 31 in a survey that looked at the acceptability of expletives on television and radio.

The majority of the Complaints Board felt given the lyrics of the song and the advertisement's placement during a G-rated family movie "the advertisement was likely to cause serious offence in the light of generally prevailing community standards". The complaint was upheld.

However a minority of the board disagreed, saying advertisers often used music to help to "give continuity to advertisements when using many different images, or to increase the advertisement's aesthetic appeal to audiences".

"While acknowledging the strength of the word 'whore' the majority found that the lyrics were quite inaudible, were part of the song and the use of the expletive was not used in an invective manner," the decision read.