Ad Standards rules against cheeky StrangeLove inheritance commercial

An ad mocking millennials’ home ownership angst has been withdrawn after breaching advertising standards over elder abuse.

Drink Now, Inherit Later

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A soft drink commercial depicting a millennial who is “waiting for my parents to die so I can afford a house’’ has been withdrawn after breaching advertising standards over elder abuse.

The nation’s advertising regulator, Ad Standards, has found the TV ad breaches its standards on age discrimination and vilification.

Its community panel upheld a complaint that the ad “normalises the death of parents as a means for increased wealth’’.

The complainant said the ad was in “unbelievably poor taste and (a) disgraceful message’’.

The advertisement for StrangeLove soft drinks shows a young woman sitting on a couch holding a can of drink and twirling her hair.

“I’m waiting for my parents to die so I can finally afford a house,’’ she says, with a framed photo of her parents in the background.

“Does buying StrangeLove pineapple sparkling water help me feel better about it? No, it’s (bleep) expensive, but it’s delicious so I buy it.’’

The commercial nails the generational clash between millennials – locked out of a spiralling housing market – and cashed-up baby boomers who blame young Australians for wasting money on avocado and toast.

Asahi Beverages told Ad Standards that the content “is clearly intended in jest and does not meet the threshold for bullying or a violation of … community standards’’.

“The humour used is dark but recognisable, reflecting common generational frustrations about housing affordability,’’ it states in a case report made public on Wednesday.

“The delivery of the line is exaggerated and comedic … ensuring it is understood as a tongue-in-cheek social commentary rather than a serious statement.’’

Asahi Beverages told the panel that the framed photograph of the woman’s parents depicts them as “happy and healthy, and there is no other suggestion in the advertisement that the daughter does not value or care for her parents’’.

A minority of panel members stated that while the dark humour “may be callous, it was not discriminating against or vilifying a person … on account of age’’.

But the majority disagreed, stating that “the woman’s callous remark indicated a contempt for her parents and suggested that their only worth to the woman was monetary’’.

“The panel considered that financial abuse of elderly people is an increasing problem in society, and many members of the community would find the woman’s remarks to be reflective of this,’’ the panel stated.

“The advertisement referred to older people in a way which incites contempt, and which suggests that they are deserving of less favourable treatment.

“(It) did discriminate against and vilify a section of the community based on age.’’

Asahi Beverages responded that it acknowledged the decision and “the advertisement is no longer in circulation’’.

The Ad Standards community panel has 24 members, including former Liberal senator Sue Knowles, who is 73, The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust chief executive Adam Davey, as well as three young university students – Truc Clark-Le, Chloe Zettl and Jacob Lee.

Griffith University researchers have calculated that Australians are set to inherit $3.5 trillion over the next 20 years – the greatest wealth transfer in Australia’s history.