KEY POINTS:
Parents can rest easy - their children are not going to be corrupted by the sight of All Black Leon MacDonald swigging milk out of a bottle.
The Advertising Standards Authority has rejected a complaint by a television viewer who objected to MacDonald's role in an Anchor milk ad.
It featured the rugby player standing beside a growth chart, while the camera followed his body from his feet up to his head where he was shown drinking the remains of a 2-litre bottle of milk.
Viewers were tempted with the line "Leon MacDonald grew up with Anchor and you can too with this awesome life-sized growth chart..."
The complainant wrote: "I tried to teach my children not to drink out of a bottle and... players are drinking on the ad out of a bottle."
The authority rejected the complaint that the ad breached the broadcasting code of ethics, saying it met the standard of social responsibility required.
"While the practice of drinking out of a bottle was not ideal, it was a small part of the advertisement promoting a product with health benefits."
It did not encourage a disregard for safety, the authority said.
Last year, the Advertising Standards Complaints Board ruled that a Keri fruit juice advertisement showing a father and son drinking from the same bottle should be pulled because it was "socially irresponsible", due to the risks of spreading germs through saliva.
- NZPA
