Advertising Standards Bureau reveals 10 most offensive ads of 2015

“IT CONFUSES children.” “It upsets my 85-year-old grandfather.” According to your whinging, these are the “most offensive” ads of 2015.

BONSAI trees as a metaphor for pubic hair, Rebel Wilson’s “big pussy” and a pun on the S word are among the “most offensive” adverts of 2015.

In an illustration of our changing social mores — and the struggle by some Australians to accept the new normal — the Advertising Standards Board dismissed thousands of complaints about cheeky adverts that were beamed into our lounge rooms this year.

Of the top 10 most complained about ads, the board found only one to have breached the industry’s code of ethics: the Ashley Madison jingle in which a man sings that he is “looking for someone other than my wife”.

But for many television viewers, low-level swear words were the hardest to bear, with a GM Holden advert for its Colorado 7 four-wheel drive, featuring a boy imitating his father’s jibe about “bloody caravaners” topping the list with 161 separate complaints.

While the company described the remark as “tongue-in-cheek”, scores of viewers found it “offensive” and “irresponsible”.

Thankfully, common sense prevailed and the board found that the word “bloody” was “a colloquial term used express frustration or to emphasise what is being said”.

“The board considered that the use of the word ‘bloody’ in this advertisement is not aggressive and is lighthearted and ironic considering the man is towing a caravan himself,” the decision said. It also dismissed complaints that the ad promoted dangerous driving.

Another cheeky advert to stoke outrage among viewers was the Handee Ultra “this is good sheet” campaign.

Coming in at number nine, the advert shows a man who spills a jar of anchovies onto the floor and reacts by saying “sheet”, as he looks to his mother to hand him a sheet of paper towel.

This is followed by scenes of various people reacting to a spill in their homes by saying the word “sheet” and reaching for a paper towel.

“I did not appreciate the content of the Handee Ultra ‘This is good sheet’ TV advert this evening,” one viewer wrote.

“This was shown during family watching time between the news telecast and was found to be highly inappropriate by my elderly father.”

Other viewers complained that their children were confused by the advert and believed that a swear word was being used.

It’s as if today’s kids have never had to invent a faux swear word of their own. Whatever happened to “sugar”, “shivers” or “shoot”?

At the more salacious end of the scale, a Stan advert featuring Rebel Wilson’s “big pussy” was found not to vilify women, although the board found that it was “clearly employing a suggestive double entendre”.

In a mock behind-the-scenes look at the production of a Stan television advert, Wilson and the “director” discuss the best way to market the availability of world movies on Stan.

Wilson suggests she simply say, “Me and my big pussy love it”, and the camera subsequently reveals a large pet cat in her lap.

The director asks if that is her pussy he can smell and then says, “It’s nice. A little picante, but it’s fragrant”.

Outrage over the “crass”, “vulgar and offensive play on words” ensued, with viewers complaining that the advert was “degrading to women”.

But the official verdict is in, and Wilson’s pussy gets over the line.

“The board noted the complainants’ concerns that the advertisement is degrading to women in its suggestion that a woman’s vagina would smell,” the decision said.

But it found that the director’s comments were not demeaning and that “while a reference to a woman’s genitalia is unusual, in this context it is not vilifying of women”.

“In the board’s view, the references to the smell of the pussy are backed up by the visibility of a cat.”

It appears that there is a fine line to tread when alluding to the female genitalia by its feline nickname.

The bureau last year upheld a complaint over a slogan painted on a Wicked Camper van, with a picture of Hollywood actor Dennis Hopper alongside a quote attributed to him, which read: “I ate so much pussy in those days my beard looked like a glazed doughnut”.

Other adverts that were vindicated this year include Unilever’s portrayal of two men kissing, a woman licking flavouring salt from her partner’s lips — which attracted the third highest number of complaints — and the Schick Hydro Silk TrimStyle razor advert featuring discreetly placed bonsai trees.

The Delites crackers licking scene sparked outrage from one viewer, who described it as “softcore pornography”.

“It confuses children and leads to a lot of questions about why they are doing that; it upsets my 85-year old mother because she does not like being inflicted with such explicit content, and it revolts every other adult and teenager in my family,” the viewer wrote.

Also in the top 10 were adverts depicting a premenstrual woman, a sweaty man wiping himself at the gym and a woman flicking a belt at a snake.

As for Ashley Madison, it should be noted that the bureau gave an identical advert for the cheating website the all-clear last year. The board said it had been forced to reconsider after the complaints kept pouring in.

This was, of course, the year that the cheating website was subject to renewed scrutiny amid the hacking scandal that exposed the identities of alleged members.

In a decision that split the board, it was found that the advert was, in fact, offensive in its portrayal of married women, who were cast as “unimportant” and replaceable, while normalising the pursuit of an adulterous liaison.

“The majority of the board considered that the advertisement is demeaning to women in its suggestion you should outsource your sexual relationship with your wife to a woman you have found on the internet,” the decision said.

Despite the fact that swiping left and right is a regular occurrence among the Tinder generation, the bureau found that showing men performing this action in the Ashley Madison context was “demeaning and vilifying of women”, because it “strongly depicts women as a commodity to be bought”.

The Advertising Standards Bureau received more than 4000 complaints about 450 different advertisements this year, and upheld about 70 of them.

“What we can see from the list is that complainants are particularly concerned with seeing behaviour in advertisements that they view as inappropriate,” chief executive Fiona Jolly said.

“While some people may not like to see bad behaviour in advertising, the content of many of these advertisements did not breach the code,” Ms Jolly said.

TEN CHEEKIEST ADVERTS OF 2015

1. HOLDEN

Television advert featuring a man driving and complaining about “bloody caravaners”. Main issue of concern was “inappropriate language”, with 161 complaints — dismissed.

2. ASHLEY MADISON

Television advert featuring men singing about “looking for someone other than my wife”. Main issue of concern was “gender discrimination or vilification”, with 138 complaints — upheld.

3. FANTASTIC SNACKS

Television advert showing a wife licking Delites crackers flavouring from her husband’s lips. Main issue of concern was “sex, sexuality or nudity”, with 85 complaints — dismissed.

4. UNICHARM

Television advert for Sofy BeFresh feminine hygiene products, featuring a woman in a variety of stereotypical scenarios related to having her period. Main issue of concern was “gender discrimination or vilification”, with 76 complaints — dismissed.

5. SPORTSBET

Television advert featuring a sweaty man wiping himself at the gym. Main issue of concern was social values, with 71 complaints — dismissed.

6. STAN

Television advert starring Rebel Wilson and referring to a cat as a “big pussy”. Main issue of concern was “sex, sexuality or nudity”, with 66 complaints — dismissed.

7. UNILEVER

Television advert for Lynx hair care products, featuring two men kissing. Main issue of concern was “sex, sexuality or nudity”, with 62 complaints — dismissed.

8. HYUNDAI

Television advert showing a woman flicking her belt at a snake. Main issue of concern was “violence or cruelty to animals”, with 59 complaints — dismissed.

9. SCA HYGIENE

Television advert for Handee Ultra, featuring people saying “oh sheet”. Main issue of concern was “inappropriate language”, with 56 complaints — dismissed.

10. EDGEWELL

Television advert for women’s razors, featuring three women trimming bonsai plants in front of their crotches. Main issue of concern was “sex, sexuality or nudity”, with 53 complaints — dismissed.

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