Mother angered by aerial advert banner’s low tone

A mother who had just told her children off for swearing when a plane flew over trailing a banner reading "It's elimination time, bitches!", has had her complaint against the C4 advertisement upheld.

The television channel was advertising a reality show called The Assistant on the banner, which was flown over the Auckland CBD between 5pm and 6pm.

K. Hansen told the Advertising Standards Complaints Board she explained to her children that although they might be able to read such words, it was not right for them to be "running around shouting them".

"I'm wondering if it's okay for Channel 4 to be advertising using the word 'bitches' at 5.20pm in the afternoon?"

In its ruling released this week, the board found that "bitch" ranked about halfway down the list of acceptability of offensive language.

The language used in the advertisement might be appropriate for the target audience of the programme, screening in an adults-only time on a television channel, the board said.

But members were unanimous that "the use of the word 'bitches' in a banner flying behind a plane over Auckland city between 5pm and 6pm would be likely to cause offence in such a public medium".

- NZPA