‘Sexualised’ Snoop Dogg meal delivery advertisement slammed
Rapper Snoop Dogg has caused outrage with an ad for a meal delivery service, with viewers slamming the “highly suggestive and extremely inappropriate” clip that has been the cause of an investigation.
Fiona Byrne
Don't miss out on the headlines from Fiona Byrne. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A TV and online advertisement featuring US rapper Snoop Dogg encouraging people to order food from a meal delivery service “doggy style” has been slammed as highly suggestive and extremely inappropriate by concerned viewers.
The commercial for Menulog has been the subject of complaints to Ads Standards, with the organisation’s Community Panel investigating the concerns on three occasions since July.
A sample of complaints showed the reference to “doggy style” in the 60 second version of the ad was the cause of most of the outrage.
One complaint was concerned with “how he liked to order his meals whilst doing it doggy style, and kept grabbing his private parts”.
Another suggested the panel type the phrase into the internet and see what appeared. “Hope I don’t cause offence,” the complainant wrote.
Another described the ad as “sexualised” and “highly suggestive and extremely inappropriate for TV”.
Menulog defended Snoop Dogg’s appearance in the ad and said it complied with all sections of the AANA Advertiser Code of Ethics and defended the use of the line: “We’re going to do this doggy style.”
“This reference is to Snoop Dogg’s name and the pun is that he is very well known for his unique style of rap music. This line is a tongue in cheek reference to talent,” Menulog said in a response to the Community Panel.
The Community Panel investigated if the advertisement was in breach of section 2.4 of the Code which states: “Advertising or Marketing Communications shall treat sex, sexuality and nudity with sensitivity to the relevant audience.”
While it found the phrase could be viewed by some adults as having a sexual reference, it believed in the context of the ad it was not used in a sexual way nor with any sexual connotation.
It found the ad did not breach the AANA Advertiser Code of Ethics and dismissed all complaints.
READ MORE:
JAMIE DURIE IN MILLION-DOLLAR LEGAL STOUSH