Black Ferns player and firefighter Rebecca Wood running through burning rugby posts. Photo / YouTube
Black Ferns player and firefighter Rebecca Wood running through burning rugby posts. Photo / YouTube
A Rebel Sport ad that depicted the "burning crosses of the Ku Klux Klan", the inappropriate use of the words "stuff you" and a Cadbury ad that "misleads" customers into thinking they still use milk in their Dairy Milk products were among the gripes received by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) last month.
The ASA ruled that there were no grounds to proceed with all three complaints as there was no apparent breach of the Advertising Codes.
The 90-second Rebel Sport television advert depicts Black Ferns player and firefighter Rebecca Wood charging down a rugby field with ball in hand, dressed in her rugby kit, while fending off opposition as she barrels through a burning house.
As she emerges from the house, Wood is tackled by an opponent but still gets up and continues. Wood comes across a little girl in her dressing gown beside a burning caravan and picks her up and carries the child downfield through a burning rugby goal post, appearing on the other side in her firefighter gear.
At the end the advert reads "How many lives you live is up to you".
The complainant said the first thing that comes to mind when watching the ad is the burning crosses of the Ku Klux Klan.
"Feel the ad is in poor taste as the first thing that comes to mind watching it is the burning crosses of the Ku Klux Klan. I have asked other people their thoughts and they have said the same," the complaint said.
The ASA said the connection between the burning rugby goal posts and a recognisable sports gear and equipment provider did not evoke images of the Ku Klux Klan and was unlikely to cause widespread offence to most people.
"The chair noted the complainant's concerns the advertisement was in poor taste and resembled a burning cross, which is symbolic of the Ku Klux Klan.
"While she acknowledged the complainant's interpretation, in her view the connection between the burning rugby goal posts and a recognisable sports gear and equipment provider was tenable and [did] not evoke images of the Ku Klux Klan. The chair said the advertisement was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence to most people and was not in breach Rule 4 or Rule 5 of the Code of Ethics."
Energy Online's television advert shows a shirtless man leaning out his window greeting a passerby with "beautiful day". The man outside is clearly cold and replies "stuff you Steve!" Steve continues to dance around his warm house while the voiceover says "don't regret not signing up with Energy Online. Join today and you could win free energy and forget winter".
The complainant took issue with the words "stuff you" being used during a time slot when children would still be watching TV.
"Inappropriate words used (stuff you!!) on primetime tv - heard the advertisement twice between 5pm and 7pm. Having grandchildren present at the time, it is disappointing to hear that phrase. Is it really necessary?" the complaint said.
The ASA said that the phrase "stuff you" was "not listed on the Unacceptable Words on Television and Radio list published by the Broadcasting Standards Authority."
"While acknowledging the phrase 'stuff you' had disappointed the complainant and conveyed a negative sentiment, the chair said, taking into account generally prevailing community standards, the advertisement was not likely to cause serious or widespread offence. Therefore, the chair ruled the advertisement had been prepared with a due sense of social responsibility and was not in breach of Basic Principle 4 or Rules 4 and 5 of the Code of Ethics."
In Cadbury's recent television advert for Dairy Milk chocolate, an elderly neighbour is seen repeatedly returning children's toys over the garden fence. In appreciation the children throw over a block of Dairy Milk chocolate. The advertisement ends with the image of two glasses of milk being poured into a block of chocolate with the tagline "there's a glass and half of milk in every one."
The complainant claimed that the ad was misleading customers into thinking they still use milk in their chocolate.
"Historically Cadbury has advertised their bars as having a 'glass and a half of milk in every block'. This was indicated on the package and in advertising by the image of two glasses, one filled with white liquid and one half filled. They no longer use milk, but palm oil. Tonight's ad said 'there's a glass and a half in every one' and showed the two glasses of white liquid. I believe Cadbury is misleading customers into thinking they still use milk in their chocolate, though their connection to the words and imagery from their historic advertising about the milk their product previously contained," the complaint said.
