Advertising campaign promoting the Territory is ‘not funny or witty’, according to industry body

THE advertising industry’s toothless watchdog has determined a controversial “guerilla marketing” campaign promoting the Northern Territory is “obscene” and doesn’t meet industry standards

Australia’s Northern Territory slogan, ‘CU in the NT’. Picture: NT Official

THE advertising industry’s toothless watchdog has determined a controversial “guerilla marketing” campaign promoting the Northern Territory is “obscene” and doesn’t meet industry standards.

Among its latest batch of determinations, the Advertising Standards Board upheld a complaint against the “CU in the NT”, which agued the slogan was “extremely denigrating to women” and “not funny or witty”.

A board investigation determined the slogan and website design were “clearly designed to highlight letters to form a strong reference to ‘c--t’.”

“The Board noted ... that the community considered the ‘c-word’ to be obscene and not appropriate in advertising in any form,” the decision says.

In a statement to the board, those behind the campaign said there were indications the offending phrase is “in fact not offensive.”

An unofficial "campaign" dubbed "CU in the NT" has caught the eye of tourism and advertising boffins alike. Picture: Supplied

The company said it rejected a complaint that it’s campaign was derogatory to women.

“(We) do not advocate anything other than an appreciation of the natural beauty of the Northern Territory.”

RELATED: MORE TOURISTS COMING TO THE NORTHERN TERRITORY

The board is an industry body with no powers of enforcement. Among the latest determinations, it dismissed complaints against posters advertising bondage gear and lingerie. The board also dismissed a complaint against an Aldi ad, that a shopper thought “depicted Americans in a negative light”.

CU in the NT did not respond to inquiries by deadline.

Originally published as Advertising campaign promoting the Territory is ‘not funny or witty’, according to industry body