The advertising watchdog has banned a sexy advertisement for a men's deodorant line not because it demeaned women but because one of the male protagonists in the ad failed to wear a seatbelt.
The advertisement for Brut deodorant depicts a group of male surfers at a beach whose attention is immediately drawn to a bikini-clad girl walking by.
One character with a ukulele breaks out in song about how he should alert his mates.
But it was not her skimpy bikini, her flirtatious walk or the blatant leering by the men that caught the Advertising Standards Bureau's attention - it was the more prosaic matter of health and safety.
The board of the ASB found against the ad because a man is shown sitting on the back shelf of an old sports car not wearing a seatbelt, while another climbs out of the boot when he is alerted to the girl's presence.
Complaints were made by a man who was slap bang in the ad's target market of men aged 18 to 30 and by an unnamed mother of two sons and a daughter, among others.
Both said the ad bordered on soft porn and even appeared to encourage the idea of gang rape.
In the ad, one of the males sings a song about how, when a good-looking girl is seen by one male, he should tell the others - what he calls to "spot and share".
"Shame Brut shame," wrote one complainant.
In its deliberation the board wrote: "The board considered that the overall theme of the advertisement is light-hearted and is specifically directed to depicting men who appreciate the beauty of a woman."
It added: "The board considered that the song 'spot and share' does not imply sexual behaviour ... and that the song and language are not suggestive of rape."
The advertiser, Pharmacare Laboratories, responded by saying it was just portraying a slice of Australian beach life.
"The entire scene needs to be viewed in the context of an Australian public beach and a typical Australian theme of young men appreciating the attractiveness of young women.
"To deny that this occurs is a denial of the Australian way of life, and in fact the commercial is reinforcing a positive, rather than negative, aspect of our society."
But the board finally pulled the ad up on health and safety grounds.
"The board expressed concern about the man seen sitting on the rear shelf of the vehicle and the man in the boot of the car.
"The board considered that as the vehicle is depicted in motion the depiction of the person in the boot and the person sitting on the car rather than in a seat is a depiction of material that does breach community standards on safety in vehicles and safe driving."
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/ ... 103ek.html
You non-sexist Brut
You non-sexist Brut
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: You non-sexist Brut
That FORD MUSTANG is a classic car and doesn't need seatbelts.
That commercial spot is TOO D@MNED BLONDE for my tastes, though.
Brut stinks, btw.
That commercial spot is TOO D@MNED BLONDE for my tastes, though.
Brut stinks, btw.
Your collective inability to acknowledge this obvious truth makes you all look like fools.
yrs,
rubato