Advertising Standards Bureau reveals 10 most complained-about commercials for 2014

GRAPHIC discussions of menstruation, a touch of S&M, lesbians lampooned and an ad that’s “like a horror movie”. These are our most complained-about commercials.

GRAPHIC discussions of menstruation, a touch of S&M, lesbians lampooned, and an ad that’s been slammed as like something out of a horror movie.

These are the most complained-about ads so far in 2014, according to the Advertising Standards Bureau.

Commercials that are sexually overt, sexist or inappropriate for children have copped the most complaints from offended viewers.

Carefree sanitary products have the dubious honour of having the top two most-complained about ads, with its “Be real” campaign slammed by viewers as being disrespectful and perverted.

This year has already surpassed 2013 in terms of the number of complaints the most offensive ads have attracted. In 2013, there were only 65 objections lodged for the most complained-about ad, while five ads have received well over 65 complaints already in 2014.

Be sure to scroll down to number eight in the list, which viewers outside of Western Australia are unlikely to have seen before, which has a shocking depiction of a child drowning in a backyard swimming pool.

Here are the 10 most complained-about commercials so far this year.

1. Carefree pads and tampons

Number of complaints: 185

Typical comment: “I find it degrading and demeaning to women in general that Johnson & Johnson could show a natural part of what we have to live with in a manner that is disrespectful, perverted to some degree, and private matter to females. My 13-year-old daughter who was sitting with me at the time was appalled and embarrassed at the lack of dignity and respect that the ad showed towards women and would like it removed permanently from any further airing of this disgusting advertisement for sanitary items. Have some decency please.”

This ad for Carefree sanitary products took a very frank approach to discussing menstruation, but some viewers felt its “Be real” campaign was a little too real. The ad describes some of the most embarrassing moments that a period can cause — including leaking (“I remember it so clearly, I’d bled straight through”), the first use of a tampon (“The idea just seemed so weird to me: shoving that, up there”), and the perils of pads (“The pad was bulging out of my leotard”).

2. Carefree ProComfort tampons

Number of complaints: 146

Typical comment: “It is unnecessary, confronting, embarrassing and degrading. I quote the ad ‘how am I going to shove that up there’ as a girl holds a tampon. Explain that to a 10-year-old boy or a seven-year-old girl. It’s a disgusting ad.”

Part of the same “Be real” campaign, this Carefree ad focuses on tampons, and includes a controversial moment where a girl Googles “Am I putting my tampon in the wrong hole?” Carefree defended the commercials, saying they address a “real need to break down the taboo and embarrassment surrounding periods. To remain silent will reinforce and perpetuate the unnecessary shame and stigma that some girls feel about their periods.”

3. Menulog

Number of complaints: 117

Typical comment: “It offends deeply my respect and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. Such religious themes should not be used to promote products especially in this manner. One questions what would happen if Mohammed was depicted in such a manner during an advert!”

Christians got their kickers in a twist over this ad, which depicts Jesus and his disciples tossing up which takeaway food they’d prefer for the Last Supper. Complainants felt the ad ridiculed what they considered a very significant event.

4. Generation Lamb

Number of complaints: 80

Typical comment: “It’s homophobic to typecast lesbians as looking like men. It is offensive to imply that vegans do not look after their children by not feeding them lamb.”

These popular ads from Meat and Livestock Australia show Sam Kekovich fighting un-Australianism by encouraging us to eat lamb on Australia Day. The 2014 version pushed the envelope by showing Kekovich mistaking a lesbian for a man and sneakily handing a lamb chop to a little boy wearing a “vegan and proud” singlet when his parents aren’t looking. Meat and Livestock Australia defended the ad by quoting a previous Advertising Standards Bureau determination, which found that its ads were “over the top and not intended to be taken seriously by members of the community”.

5. Sportingbet

Number of complaints: 59

Typical comment: “It is the swearing. This is shown in prime time TV with kids watching. Not only is it promoting gambling, but now you can swear in ads! Even though it is bleeped out, there is no need for this laddish, hard-man behaviour while having family dinner!”

The online gaming site bet Shane Warne $5000 to face his fear of spiders. Never one to pass up publicity, Warnie accepted and the results were very sweary! “I’m not nervous about anything but this f---ing spider,” Warnie says. Most complainants objected to the cursing, but one said there was one thing worse than that. “This advert needs a warning at the beginning as I have arachnophobia,” they said.

6. Nivea deodorant

Number of complaints: 52

Typical comment: “This ad is blatantly sexist and simply perpetuates the untrue stereotype, prevalent in so much of the mainstream media these days, of men being whining babies who can’t handle things anywhere near as well as women. Men are constantly being depicted as useless bubbling fools and contrasted with wise, competent women. If this ad had the sex roles reversed it would never have made it to air in the first place.”

Nivea has copped allegations of sexism for its gentle ribbing of men in this deodorant ad. In it, a man comes home from work stressed and exhausted while the multi-tasking woman breezes through with aplomb. “Poor, poor men, working all day. Your life is so stressful,” the female voiceover remarks with more than a little sarcasm. Objectors noted that people would be up in arms about this commercial had the gender roles been reversed.

7. Generation Lamb

Number of complaints: 41

This is the online version of the Australia Day lamb ad that came in at number 4.

8. St John Ambulance

Number of complaints: 34

Typical comment: “I object to this commercial, as it was graphic and disturbing, seeing the boy actually hitting his head on the ledge and going under was like something out of a MA15+ horror movie.”

This truly shocking advertisement has an important message — the need for parents to be trained in first aid — but it’s violence and distressing content has caused complaints. The ad, which shows a boy hitting his head on the side of a pool and drowning, has made the top 10 of most complained-about ads, despite being only shown in Western Australia. One complainant described the commercial as “disgusting, untrue, distressing and totally over the top”, and many others said it had made their young children cry. “My six-year-old son keeps asking if he will die since watching the ad,” one person commented. St John defended the shock tactics deployed in the advertisement. “We contend that the graphic nature of the advertisement was justified in the context of the product (first aid training) and a critical part of our campaign to educate the public about the vital importance of knowing first aid,” the organisation said.

9. Nivea In-Shower Body Moisturiser

Number of complaints: 22

Typical comment: “There should not have been any shot of the woman’s breast. All of my family members were offended by this. It it totally unnecessary.”

A little bit of boob can cause a big commotion. Offended people wrote in to the Advertising Standards Bureau to complain that too much of the model’s breasts were shown in this promotion for body wash. The advertiser disagreed, saying the model was “shown in a modest fashion without revealing too much of the body”.

10. Ultra Tune

Number of complaints: 20

Typical comment: “The automotive industry is known for a traditional lack of respect for women. The role of the women in the advertisement was purely as objects. The tagline, ‘We’re into rubber’, is offensive and it reduces the women in the ad to fetish objects, not customers or equals.”

Ultra Tune sexed up their image with this 30-second spot promoting tyres. It shows two latex-clad women crack a whip on the counter of her local Ultra Tune store to attract the attention of the male attendant. Why? Because, as the tagline explains, Ultra Tune is “now into rubber”. Also, the women appear to be turned on by Ultra Tune’s tyre stock, which is surely the first time this very particular fetish has been explored on free-to-air TV. Complainants said the ad was too sexually overt and degrading to women.

For the record, the Advertising Standards Board has investigated and dismissed the complaints for all 10 of the ads discussed above, finding that they complied with advertising codes.

Originally published as Advertising Standards Bureau reveals 10 most complained-about commercials for 2014