Australia Day lamb ad creators threaten legal action over parody

AUSTRALIA’S peak advertising body has ruled that the controversial Australia Day lamb ad was not discriminatory against vegans or indigenous people.

AUSTRALIA’S Advertising Standards Board has ruled that the controversial Australia Day lamb advertisement did not breach the Australian Association of National Advertisers’ strict code of ethics.

The ad, which was launched as part of a Meat and Livestock Australia campaign, has raised the ire of animal rights groups and Aboriginal rights activists, who say it is discriminatory.

But the ASB has now said Meat and Livestock Australia has not breached the code of ethics, with the majority of the board thinking that the ad’s depiction of ‘torching’ vegan food was not meant to incite hatred towards vegan people.

The board also found that the use of the term ‘boomerang’ was not meant as a reference to Aboriginal people but was used in its colloquial form to mean something that is to be returned.

They also dismissed the assertion that the ad was “too violent” for children with suggestions of terrorist attacks.

Controversial star ... SBS News presenter Lee Lin Chin has been at the centre of the controversy

“In the majority Board’s view these images are all clearly fantasy and unrealistic and are not depictions of violence nor are they likely to encourage similar behaviour in real life,” the board said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Meat and Livestock Australia said the organisation welcomed the decision.

“As a responsible advertiser and marketer, MLA operates in compliance with the provisions of the AANA Code – and this year’s Australia Day lamb campaign is no different.

“The role of the campaign remains to promote and build demand for Australian lamb, which is some of the best quality lamb in the world.

“The advertisement has been viewed more than 4 million times across media channels and feedback remains overwhelmingly positive.

“MLA is a not-for-profit organisation responsible for delivering marketing, and research and development programs for Australia’s red meat industry. MLA encourages Australians to enjoy quality Australian lamb this Australia Day.”

The announcement comes after representatives from Meat and Livestock Australia reportedly threatened an animal rights group with legal action after they used a snippet of the ad in a video showing graphic footage from inside an abattoir.

The parody video, posted by Aussie Farms last week, is presented as a “Behind the Scenes” clip of the ad.

It opens with seven seconds of footage of SBS newsreader Lee Lin Chin from the “Operation Boomerang” ad, followed by footage taken from inside the Gathercole’s slaughterhouse in Wangaratta, Victoria.

The MLA has ordered the immediate removal of the video, arguing it’s a breach of copyright, and has threatened to take legal action against Aussie Farms if they fail to act.

“The take down notice was issued by MLA in relation to the use of footage from its Australia Day lamb advertisement and breaches of copyright associated with that,” a spokesman for the MLA told News Corp Australia.

Centre of attention ... A scene from the Aussie Farms video.

Aussie Farms executive director Chris Delforce, who produced the confronting documentary Lucent which went behind the scenes of the pig farming industry, rejected the MLA’s claim Aussie Farms had breached copyright law, saying the video falls squarely within the definition of Fair Use.

“They’ve responded to criticism of their ad’s racial insensitivity and violence by saying people just need to get a sense of humour — but now with more and more seeing what eating lamb really means, I guess their own sense of humour’s expired?”.

The graphic video was watched by more than 15,000 people within three days of being posted online.

Mr Delforce said the footage from inside the slaughterhouse clearly shows young sheep being killed without adequate stunning.

“This is a common occurrence in Australian slaughterhouses due to the high kill rate required to meet demand — inevitably some will slip through who have not been stunned,” Mr Delforce said.

In the line of fire ... SBS newsreader Lee Lin Chin in the opening scene of the MLA ad.

Instead of removing the snippet, Aussie Farms has launched a fundraising appeal to boost the video’s reach on social media in the lead-up to Australia Day.

“If their ad is anything to go by, I can probably expect they’ll be coming to burn my house down now,” Mr Delforce said, referring to a scene in the Operation Boomerang ad in which a vegan’s kale is torched.

Prime Safe, which oversees standards in the meat processing industry, says the footage in the Aussie Farms parody is old.

The matter was investigated in January 2015 and dealt with.

“That investigation did identify some noncompliance,” a spokeswoman said, but would not detail the circumstances.

“Some enforcement requirements were undertaken.”

Prime Safe has conducted two unannounced audits since then, the spokeswoman said.

More than 600 complaints have been made against the MLA ad — primarily from vegans concerned that the ad promotes violence against minorities.

Others have complained the use of Operation Boomerang is offensive to indigenous Australians.

Originally published as Australia Day lamb ad creators threaten legal action over parody