Puppetry of the Penis ad gets complaint for ‘thrusting the male genital part into the public arena’
A billboard ad for long-running comedy theatre production Puppetry of the Penis has drawn its first complaint since the show first ran in Australia 13 years ago.
The complaint to the Ad Standards Bureau is from a Brisbane churchgoer who objects to children being exposed to the “male genital part”.
The word ‘penis’ appears on the ad, although no flesh or even penis-like shapes are featured.
The two billboards are up on Abbotsford Road, Bowen Hills and outside the Twelfth Night theatre on Cintra Road, Brisbane. The campaign is scheduled to run in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney where the show will tour.
The complaint read:
We teach our children to behave civilly and use words appropriately. This billboard offends against this dignity by thrusting the male genital part into the public arena for entertainment and laughs. It makes a mockery of parent’s efforts to raise their children to respect their own and other’s modesty and dignity. You cannot avoid seeing it from several major, arterial roads which we regularly travel and it is in the same street as a Church we attend. Since the billboard is on our route to the City, to Church and to numerous other events, we cannot avoid it without taking considerable detours. This is seriously impinging on our freedom of movement.
Simon Morley, the Australian founder of Puppetry of the Penis told City News: “I just think people see the word penis and get very defensive. We just did a five month tour in the UK and there wasn’t one complaint.”
“It was a take on those old-style shock horror films, which is what we’re trying to achieve with it, a bit of humour mixed with something scary.”
Morley said the poster was far more tame than ads he has run in the past.
I wish people wouldn’t dick around with complaints like this. It always seems to be religious nuts who strut around like cocks with their more righteous than thou attitudes.
It gives me the willies that one day these people might be in the majority and will stick it to the rest of us with their one-eyed god fearing views.
I hope most Australian still think this is a wee issue and will disregard the ding dongs who want to wave their magic wands and protect their little soldiers from the scientific and accurate words for describing body parts.
I wonder if the male members in this lady’s congregation feel the same way about the sight or hearing of this word, part of their bodies, or if they are too busy with their power tools and jack hammers to worry about whether their children are being wrapped in cotton wool and fed a steady diet of ‘my little pony’.
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@craig 9:40pm.
best comment ever.
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I find the whole thing hard to swallow.
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I dunno…look at that ‘I’
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For the record, Morley didnt tell the Courier Mail, he told City News, which is part of Quest Community Newspapers.
And the story is here 🙂
http://www.questnews.com.au/ce.....6276041833
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Dear whingeing churchy loser – one word…. STIFF.
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I was thinking of making a similar complaint about mumbrella. in the story below this one the words “George P. Johnson” can be clearly made out
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his show toured the UK with no probs whatsoever
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I can understand her poor son, Dick, being upset. He was being dragged to church again.
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I find it more than a bit hypocritical that ads concerning some minority groups – there have been more than enough stories like this over the last 6 months – get pulled almost immediately at the very scent of offense and without much common sense being applied.
But if that group happens to be conservative religion everyone thinks they have the right to ridicule them and their sensibilities.
Do only some in society have a right to be offended?
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I am genuinely starting to believe that atheists/agnostics are starting to fabricate these complaints in an attempt to set up a straw man argument against outlandish qualms church goers have against seemingly harmless things.
That or the word “penis” is genuinely offensive to some people. I can’t see why it would be though. I would hate to be this guys kid.
– Dad I want to watch some football on TV!
– Foot WHAT? That’s it Jebediah, you’re grounded.
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The Church sensoring the Arts. Now that is a scary thought
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Some people just need to harden up.
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See what all the controversy is about live. Catch the boys and their controversial appendages at the Sydney Comedy Fest:
http://sydneycomedyfest.com.au.....;itemid=55
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Looks to me like there are a couple of dicks on the poster.
(boom tish!)
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I think it’s a brilliant name and concept for a show. It’s bound to get some form of complaint, or at least a gasp, and that will always draw focus = free publicity.
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