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The ads Kiwis complained about in July

Author
NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Fri, 24 Aug 2018, 3:31PM
Heidi Klum is a brand ambassador for Bendon. Photo / Supplied
Heidi Klum is a brand ambassador for Bendon. Photo / Supplied

The ads Kiwis complained about in July

Author
NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Fri, 24 Aug 2018, 3:31PM

An advertisement for P&O which uses the "offensive" saying "ship yeah", inappropriate Bendon posters at a shopping mall and an online retailer selling naked children's dolls were among the complaints received by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) last month.

The ASA said there were no grounds to proceed on any of the gripes.

The television advertisement for P&O cruises features a voiceover which says: "A free room upgrade on your next P&O cruise for just a $1 deposit. Am I on board with that?"

The advertisement then shows a ship-wrecked character reclining on the ship's sun deck saying "Ship yeah!" The ad ends with the voiceover saying "P&O Ship Yeah sale is on now!"

The complainant said the use of the saying "ship yeah" was pretty much swearing and was highly offensive.

"I wish to complain about the new P&O ad saying 'Ship yeah'. We really know what they are saying and it is offensive to me and I am sure many others.

"Maybe the young people of today do not care about insinuations but I do and maybe the producers of this advertisement think they are being smart. So pretty much they are swearing and it is highly offensive to me and to hear it over and over again gives me a headache."

The chair said the advertiser was attempting to use humour by inserting an inoffensive word – "ship" – with a similar sound in place of a swear word – "s**t" – and the advertisement was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence to most people and did not offend against generally prevailing community standards.

The chair ruled there were no grounds to proceed with the complaint.

Two Bendon advertisement posters displayed in one of its shop windows at a Westfield Mall featured Heidi Klum kneeling in matching lingerie and high heeled shoes in one, and a full-length image of a model wearing a black lingerie set in the other.

The complainant said the posters were inappropriate as they displayed suggestive imagery with an underlying sexual theme at a mall for all ages.

"I understand this is a lingerie store, but this is simply too inappropriate. I would like these images removed. The specific concerns we have regarding the promotional material includes; suggestive imagery with an underlying sexual theme, choice of revealing lingerie, seductive poses, and the location of the advertisement itself being directly outside public restrooms," the complainant said.

"This is inappropriate for a mall of all ages. The poor choice of her lace lingerie focuses more on her body parts than the lingerie itself. Unfortunately, this indecent advertisement is displayed right outside public toilets for all to see."

The chair noted that while some people may find the underwear worn in the advertisements provocative, in her view they were not particularly revealing or salacious in nature and they did not reach the threshold to cause serious or widespread offence to most people.

The chair ruled there were no grounds to proceed with the complaint.

Advertisements for online retailer, The Nile, of children's toy Miniland Anatomically Correct Baby Dolls, show the dolls pictured without their clothes on.

The complainant said they were shocked and concerned about children being exposed to the naked dolls.

"I am a bit concerned about how this child's toy is being advertised and initially I was pretty shocked at how upfront this is, the company has many children toys portraying naked children, as the listing says anatomically correct but I personally think I wouldn't want my child being exposed to this advertising, some listings the dolls have clothes on which is perfectly fine! but there are pictures where the dolls are completely naked and I don't feel this is right for a very public and open to all ages website," the complainant said.

While acknowledging the concern the advertisement caused to the complainant, the chair said the images helped convey an accurate impression of the product being advertised and ruled there were no grounds to proceed with the complaint.

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