Ad watchdog bans MLA’s religious lamb ad after ‘substantial flaw’ found in its initial decision
The Advertising Standards Board has banned Meat and Livestock Australia’s ad featuring a meat-eating Lord Ganesha despite initially deciding the ad had not breached any rules.
An independent reviewer was appointed to provide a secondary recommendation to the Ad Standards Board after it received over 200 complaints and Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Jewish leaders urged for the ad to be banned.The Board has now upheld the complaint claiming MLA gave “inadequate consideration to how seriously some Australians take their religious views”.
A win for the wowsers
The Monkeys is one of the best advertising agencies in Australia. Although this ad is funny, and well crafted, it doesn’t live up to the promise of their old spring campaign, which suggest diversity and inclusion would be the norm. We know hindu’s were offended, no one called out the fact though, that Buddha isn’t a god, and buddhism isn’t really a religion. I know it seems like nit picking, but when you promise diversity you can’t continue to deliver super white campaigns that show a western white person’s ignorance to others religions. I mean Jesus definitely wasn’t a north shore surfie, and most of those greek god’s were probably added so that more white actors could be used. This ad has some funny lines, and MLA doesn’t have to be diverse. It could just say how tasty lamb is. If your going to promise diversity though, don’t deliver ignorance.