2019 report finds a third of advertising complaints were about issues not covered by watchdog

A third of complaints made to industry watchdog Ad Standards in 2019 were about issues that are not covered by the AANA Code of Ethics.

In its annual Review of Operations report, Ad Standards said these complaints often related to “uncomfortable scenes in advertisements” and came in response to ads which “push the boundaries on social issues”.

Libra’s #BloodNormal campaign was the target of a large proportion of these complaints, after some viewers took issue with the period-related visuals being “gross, embarrassing, or uncomfortable” to watch.