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Ad watchdog rules against Wicked Campers use of Obama slogan with Hitler image

wicked campers logoAnother two Wicked Camper slogans have been ruled against by the ad watchdog, taking the company’s tally of breaching the code up to 12 for the year.

The first, “Yes We Can!”, ran on the side of a car along with an image of Adolf Hitler, while on the rear it said “@ I’m a believer!”. The second was the slogan “…Save a lollipop…suck a dick!”. Both were found to vilify a section of the community and to use language inappropriate in the circumstances.

Yes we can! was the slogan coined by US President Barack Obama during his 2008 election campaign. Complaints against the slogan argued it was “a campaign to continue the murderous policies initiated by Hitler” and it was “highly offensive to me and anyone else whose families were affected by Hitler”.

wicked campers lollipop sloganMeanwhile complaints against the lollipop slogan argued “young children should not be exposed to such things” as it “introduces innocent children to a sexual concept they are not equipped to know about”.

In its ruling the Ad Standards Board, noted the image of the Hitler character was a “very good likeness” and the use of the image along with the text “Yes we can!” amounted to “a depiction which would cause distress not only to Jewish people but to anyone affected by the horror of World War II”.

The board ruled it amounted to an “overall depiction which does discriminate against or vilify a section of the community”, upholding the complaint.

In considering the lollipop slogan, the board noted the word ‘dick’ is a colloquial reference to a penis, and that as it was in relation to a sexual act it “amounts to language which is inappropriate”. The complaint was also upheld.

However, complaints relating to a third slogan were dismissed by the ASB. The slogan “A King runs a Kingdom. Who runs a Country?” was ruled to be ok despite the board noting “the most likely response is a colloquial reference to a woman’s vagina”.

Complainants against the slogan argued it was “lewd” and a “disgusting way to refer to women”.

Wicked Campers did not make any representations to the board in its defence in any of the cases.

Previous ASB rulings against Wicked Campers this year have included the slogans: “In every princess there is a little slut who wants to try it just once”, “Chuck Norris needs a monkey wrench and a blowtorch to masturbate”, “If you love God, burn a church” “Get out ya tits and we’ll call it quits”, “Fat girls are harder to kidnap“, “Does your asshole ever get jealous of the shit that comes out of your mouth?”,  “Shut the f#ck up Donny“, “God I’m Fucking Awesome”,  “I was in fuckin’ Nirvana dude. Dave Grohl“ and “Half of life is fucking up, the other half is dealing with it”.

Miranda Ward

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