'Family fun' gun ad inappropriate, says ASA

An ad showing a young boy with a gun and no adult supervision breaches advertising standards, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled.

T Hamilton had complained to the ASA that an ad for Hamills New Zealand - headed Fishing and Shooting is Fun for the Whole Family - showed two boys, one of whom was looking down the barrel of a gun as though focusing on a target.

The ad also showed a range of fishing rods and guns.

"I was amazed at the blatant promotion of pistols and air rifles under the title of `fun for the whole family'," T Hamilton said.

"... young boys with a gun without any noticeable supervision was most disturbing."

Hamills told the ASA it stood by its "Shooting is Fun for the Whole Family" slogan.

"Hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders enjoy the sport of shooting.

"The kids shown are the children of one of our staff and they both thoroughly enjoy shooting, which they do under supervision.

"We have assumed that the public viewing the advertisement would have sufficient common sense to realise that these children were under adult supervision."

The ASA said the lack of supervision depicted was not appropriate, given the inherent danger of firearms and the need to supervise children when taking part in risky activities.

"Accordingly, it was of the view that the advertisement had not been prepared with a due sense of social responsibility, where it showed the picture of the two boys using a gun without an adult."

Complaints over the slogan and the lack of any mention of firearms licences were not upheld.

- NZPA