Complaint against Goodtime Burgers’ apology for previous banned ad dismissed by ASB
Source: @lizziemerriment/Twitter
The Advertising Standards Board (ASB) has dismissed a complaint against a print ad for Goodtime Burgers which was apologising for a previous ad featuring a patty sandwiched between a woman’s buttocks which was banned by the board for being “degrading“.
The “formal apology” ad, which was printed in The Beast a magazine circulated in Sydney’s eastern suburbs where the original ad was printed, featured a woman’s bottom wearing ripped denim shorts, with the apology printed below.
A complaint made to the ASB read: “The advertisement is degrading to women as the text (taken together with the image of the half-naked bottom) clearly suggests that women are comparable to pieces of meat, and are faceless sexual objects to be consumed. This implication is heightened by the words ‘moist and juicy’, which have associations with women’s genitals and which are apparently being compared to meat.
“The sarcastic tone of the text reinforces the message that women are not to be respected and that the advertiser does not respect the dignity of women, or their right to be offended by degrading images.
“This advertisement appeared in a free magazine that is widely distributed in cafes, letterboxes and other public places, and which are visible to all members of the public, including children.”
While the board said the image was “mildly sexualised” it ruled that the “advertisement did treat sex, sexuality and nudity with sensitivity to the relevant audience”.
Dismissing the complaint it ruled “that the text in conjunction with the image gives a humorous content which in the Board’s view did not amount to an image which is exploitative and degrading”.
The text reads:
To those who may have been offended by our sensory arousing advertising experience in the last issue of THE BEAST, please accept this formal apology. Our point was not to disturb, but to simply introduce the erotic combination of our moist & juicy burger patties and our soft and smooth buns to the beautiful people of Bondi. We guarantee you will remember this burger the next morning. Our food is sexy, stimulating, juicy and made-to-order. So, if for some reason our last ad left you thinking beyond the burger and onto the onto the buns, sadly you have missed the mark. The point of our ad was to entice your senses, tastebuds to be exact!
Yes, we are about the beach.
Yes, we are about the buns.
Yes, we are about having fun.
And Yes, we are about great food at great prices.
However, to cram all that information into one advert would be cheap, crass and in your face. We are sorry for many things, but there is one thing for certain, we are not sorry for having a GoodTime 🙂
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“This implication is heightened by the words ‘moist and juicy’, which have associations with women’s genitals and which are apparently being compared to meat.’
have to laugh at that really
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Juvenile work for a juvenile brand, selling, (I presume) to juvenile customers.
I’m envisaging a lot of hi-fiving and “we showed’em”s went down after this.
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It’s a shame we can’t read the copy.
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Hi Sam,
I have transcribed the copy for you and added it into the story.
Cheers,
Miranda – Mumbrella
Hold the cheese, extra pickles
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Pathetic. So the relevant youth audience can be sexist and offensive in a retro 70s way- shorts to match- its just fun ! I guess I’m just an old hot cross bun .
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So the ASB banned the last disgusting ad, and this is their mock apology – all designed to cause outrage, controversy and build their brand. Is it working for them in terms of sales? It may be true that sex sells, but surely there is some kind of common sense to be applied with food – that genitals, backsides and burgers just don’t mix – as a visual, or in copy. Can’t help but recall Chico rolls advertising, and the sexy chick on the bike holding it – but she didn’t have it shoved between her buttocks…Forget about sexist, just plain unpalatable.
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