Ad Standards Australia dismisses 350 complaints about super-size OnlyFans billboard in Perth

Australia’s top advertising watchdog has made a major call on a giant racy OnlyFans billboard at a busy intersection after hundreds of complaints.

Despite 350 public complaints, one of the country’s top advertising watchdogs has given an OnlyFans star the all-clear on a racy Perth billboard advertising her channel.

In what is understood to be an Australian first, Savannah – also known as WC Savage – caused a massive stir in April after plastering herself across a super-sized billboard near a busy intersection in the Perth suburb of Osborne Park.

The advertisement, which shows her posed in a bikini at Coogee Beach, includes links and a QR code to her OnlyFans, which hosts her adult content.

The billboard quickly provoked the ire of locals, businesses and parents.

OnlyFans star Savannah commissioned a billboard ad promoting her channel in the suburb of Osborne, Perth. Picture: 7NEWS

Hundreds of complaints flooded into Ad Standards, a major gatekeeper that is in charge of the complaint resolution process of advertising in Australia’s self-regulated system.

On April 26, its Community Panel dismissed all 350 complaints it had received.

They included concerns that it “sends a message that it’s OK to sexually objectify women, and sexual objectification of women leads to violence against women” and even that the billboard “is inappropriate for adult males struggling with a porn addiction”.

Its case report published online included dozens of samples of complaints.

“This imagery encourages a particular view of the female body and value and is inappropriate. It is also situated in a culturally diverse area, and I am confident would offend many people of various beliefs and cultural backgrounds due to the near nudity and clear sexual nature,” one said.

OnlyFans star Savannah has defended her choice to advertise her adult using a billboard Picture: Instagram

Another said: “As a woman, it makes me feel less safe in society, and distressed at the message this sends my teenage daughter (it’s socially acceptable to view women as sexual objects) and my teenage sons (society says it’s OK to portray women like this).

“I find it very upsetting and offensive,” it continued.

Ultimately however, the Community Panel declared the WC Savage billboard ad does not breach the advertising industry’s code of ethics.

A spokeswoman from Ad Standards told news.com.au that issues regarding the portrayal of sex and sexuality in advertising are “complex and subjective”.

“The Community Panel consists of diverse members representing various backgrounds and perspectives from within the community who work to represent and uphold prevailing community standards in advertising,” she said.

“Its task is often a difficult one, but we have confidence in the integrity of the Community Panel’s process.”

‘Not a Savannah problem’

Savannah, the adult content creator at the centre of the furore, told perthnow she personally had copped a wave of complaints and vicious insults.

“I was called a child groomer, a paedophile, a sex trafficker, and compared to Jeffery Dahmer,” she said.

A giant OnlyFans billboard of adult entertainer Savannah pictured with the billboard which had copped hundreds of complaints. Picture: Instagram

“People are comfortable saying horrible things behind a keyboard, but I’ve had people recognise me in the street, and no one says anything to my face.

“How many people saying things can say they haven’t watched porn?”

Savannah believed she could hardly be blamed for children’s misadventures towards her fortified content – especially given the OnlyFans platform’s safety standards and the requirement to pay to see the adult content.

“A lot of the complaints were to do with children being able to access porn,” she said. “If your kids are accessing OnlyFans, it’s poor parenting. That’s a parenting problem, not a Savannah problem.”

A massive return on investment

Savannah said she put down an initial $7700 for the billboard but made $100,000 in the first week alone through referrals and subsequent global media coverage of the backlash.

The 1198 per cent return on investment is enough to buy her a new home the, content creator said, claiming her subscriber base surged from 1000 to 10,000 post billboard.

“People think because they have an opinion that they have to voice it. But I’ve welcomed every single online comment directed at me — I like them,” she said. “You guys don’t know how much they helped me!”

– with perthnow

Originally published as Ad Standards Australia dismisses 350 complaints about super-size OnlyFans billboard in Perth