Year's most-criticised TV car ads

The Advertising Standards Bureau has released a list of the 10 most complained about advertisements during 2013, and the car industry was responsible for two of them.

The most complained about advertisement was a television commercial for Tooheys Extra Dry beer that attracted a total 66 complaints.

In the advertisement, a man’s mouth jumps off his face during a party and admonishes him for the many things he has done to it recently, such as sucking on toes, having his mouth licked by his poodle, drying his mouth out and finally having his inner lip tattooed with the words “bite me”.

The man makes amends by opening and drinking a bottle of Tooheys Extra Dry, at which point the mouth thanks him for the repayment. The TVC ends with the words “Repay Your Mouth with the Clean Crisp Taste”.

The complaints listed such things as the representation of an unhealthy attitude regarding excessive alcohol consumption and the objectification of the body in the commercial. The complaints were dismissed by the ASB.

The car advertisements were by Nissan and Chrysler and rated at five and six respectively on the top-10 list.

Chrysler’s ad, which attracted 24 complaints, showed a woman taking her dog to a training class led by a male teacher.

Complaints against it were dismissed, but the 31 complaints about the Nissan ad, which depicted a supposedly pregnant woman being driven to hospital in a Pulsar “racing through streets” to get to hospital on time, were upheld.

The complaints pointed to the apparent emphasis on the car’s speeds in the city, rather than the increasingly common focus on factors such as safety and economy.

One complainant said it was “absolutely disgraceful encouraging people to race to hospital with little regard for safety”.

The advertisement was actually a modification of one that had already drawn complaints, and was re-made to nullify the suggestion of speed through the reduction of engine noise in the soundtrack and the removal the words “quick, quick, quick” and “go, go, go” from the script.

Nevertheless it was still alleged to be in breach of Australian Road Rule 126 regarding keeping a safe distance between vehicles and “depicted aggressive or competitive driving behaviour.”

Nissan claimed the advertisement did not display unsafe, reckless or menacing driving that would breach clause 2(a) of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries’ code.

However, the ASB found that while it did not breach Section 2.6 of the FCAI code (which states that “Advertising or Marketing Communications shall not depict material contrary to Prevailing Community Standards on health and safety”), it did breach clause 2(a) and the complaints were upheld.

Nissan followed with further revisions to the ad, including the removal of comments such as “10.24, personal best” from the voiceover and deleting segments showing the couple kissing, shots of the car entering and driving along an alleyway, revving sounds and the beep of a stopwatch on arrival at the hospital.

The ASB said that although the number of complaints registered in 2013 was lower than the previous year, a broader range of issues were raised.

“In recent years there have been advertisements which have resulted in up to 220 complaints. Last year’s most complained about ad received more than double the complaints than this year’s number one,” said Advertising Standards Bureau Chief Executive Officer, Fiona Jolly.

Jolly said while the majority of ads in the 10 most complained about list were cleared by the board, preliminary figures show that approximately 60 ads were found to breach the code in 2013.

“Around 50 of the ads which were found to breach the code received fewer than five complaints. This highlights the importance and effectiveness of getting online and making a complaint,” Jolly said.

2013 Top 10 complained-about ads:

1 Lion (Tooheys). TV ad featuring a man at a party whose mouth detaches from his face and jumps onto the bench and talks to him.
Dismissed. Number of complaints: 66

2 Vodafone. TV ad in which ‘kiddults’ are shown going to nightclubs in glittering dresses.
Dismissed. Number of complaints: 42

3 Bonds. Billboard with plain black background, with white wording "boobs".
Dismissed. Number of complaints: 36

4 Yellow Brick Road Super. TV ad that opens with female with a child in pram – child slaps woman.
Upheld - Modified or Discontinued. Number of complaints: 32

5 Nissan. TV ad with Nissan Pulsar racing through streets to get pregnant woman to hospital and recording their fastest time – second version.
Upheld - Modified or Discontinued. Number of complaints: 31

6 Chrysler. TV ad showing a woman taking her dog to a dog training class led by a male teacher.
Dismissed. Number of complaints: 24

7 Windsor Smith. TV ad in which men with tattoos and women in underwear walk around against a white background and contemporary music playing.
Dismissed. Number of complaints: 24

8 Australian National Preventive Health Agency. TV ad shows a man struggling to breathe expanding. A voiceover suggests that this happens to people who smoke and that emphysema is a dreadful way to die.
Dismissed. Number of complaints: 23

9 Target. TV ad in which designer calls breasts "bangers".
Dismissed. Number of complaints: 23

10 SSAA. Large outdoor poster showing a man posing with a large rifle. Wording reads "Electrician by Day -- Hunter by Choice".
Dismissed. Number of complaints: 22

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