Affairs website Ashley Madison raises the stakes with outdoor ad
Ashley Madison, the matchmaking site for married people, has today posted a provocative billboard in Sydney less than three weeks after its TV ad was taken off air.
The latest poster is on an Eye billboard at Sydney Domestic Airport.
The TV ad provoked a string of complaints to the Ad Standards Bureau when it was aired during Nine’s Underbelly.
The media is being booked by Frontier Media.
The poster is likely to generate further controversy – and media coverage for the brand. If the Advertising Standards Bureau receives complaints, it is likely to debate similar lines to those for a ban on the Advanced Medical Institute.
The AMI’s “longer lasting sex” billboards were ordered down by the ASB two years ago, in a reversal of an earlier decision, citing “changing community standards”.
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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So what they’re really saying is “Life is short and trust is cheap. Cheat on your partner, just because you think can get away with it.” Very sad.
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I know we’re not allowed to make specific allegations but the “while in Sydney” really does indicate what this website’s business model is actually about.
Which is fine, and I fully support this service’s right to exist and right to advertise (including on TV) however if there are specific advertising restrictions on that genre of business, which I imagine there are, then this billboard probably breaches them.
If you have to delete this comment I understand, but I would suggest that in terms of “fair comment” it is probably passable. (And if AM has more than ten employees they can’t sue for defamation anyway).
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you’re talking hookers, right? right?
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Am starting to think this could be an ad for a brothel and they are avoiding the tight advertising guidelines that brothels have by pretending to be a website like adultmatchmaker or the likes…. Still don’t think it needs to be ‘out there’ though…
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I am no prude to any degree but do we need to…rather, should we allow ourselves to promote the fact that many of us are morally bankrupt to a domestic and an international audience?? What’s next, fuel companies telling us that petrol’s expensive, why not steal a car…
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hahaha! “Ashley Madison” – Only a man would come up with such a business model and give it a womans name!!!
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Was it the ASB that wouldn’t allow the atheist society or foundation to advertise on large format? The interesting thing is that I am sure this campaign will work well for AM in terms of web hits, word of mouth and inevitably with people signing up for a wild night in sydney
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Totally embarrassing.
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By the way I saw this on Sunday night, so it couldn’t have been posted today.
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Interesting choice of image, it kinda says: “Life is short. Have an affair … with a pouty teenager who resents your very presence.”
I guess that’s what happens when you hire models with not enough life experience to know the difference between surly and sultry.
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Had a chuckle
Love these scams / schemes, the attention and the fact that there is a market
Thought this was even funnier
http://www.ashleymadisonsucks.com/
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Hi Evie,
The story was written on Monday, so let’s split the difference!
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
EYE have hosted this billboard.
Check out what Eye say about themselves as a ‘help the community’ company…
http://www.eyecorp.com.au/inde.....6&t=2
Contradiction?
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I just asked my husband why these ads always have naked women on them? If they are trying to attract women to the site too, why don’t the put a naked man on it and ask us ladies to join him? My husbands response was that men would feel threatened by it thinking they would lose their wife to some other man ……………. i guess women just have to put up with as per bloody usual!
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Brief from client?
…create controversy via outstanding/impactful media placement
(they produced the creative FYI for you creative judges out there)
Media job…tick. Job done, thanks all for delivering my KPI’s.
PS Plenty of leads for new business post this campaign, thanks for the support everyone 🙂
PPS I love you Gazza and Blink.
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@Mark O’Brien
Is that truly the real Mark O’Brien?
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It’s me…..have avoided the over reaction from some posters over the past 3 weeks.
I had a job to do….don’t shoot me!
By the way, …yes I am married, yes I have kids…. But what has that got to do with the price of fish??
I have been asked to advertise a legal product….EOS/
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well said Mark
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Funny thing is,
this has pointed another direction,
we are still talking about this after what nearly 2 weeks,
Now that shows this ad has done what is designed to do wether it is right or wrong,
I noticed this when i was at DHL picking up a package,
I wasen’t sure what Ashely Madison was, dating site or what ever, unsure but i looked at the traffic lights and you would not believe how many people were just reading this,
on the other hand someone (Jack i think) mentioned that …..”really Life is short and trust is cheap. Cheat on your partner, just because you think can get away with it.” Very sad.””
Now the way to think about it is yeah if you do get caught life won’t be short it will feel like eternity
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Just for all of you still talking about our billboard after two+ weeks, this is just the first billboard to be erected in our new campaign.
After having our television commercials relegated to post 11pm, we have decided to advertise in another medium. Sounds like this one is working – and it was not pulled down because of complaints.
Thank you for your hypocrisy …criticizing it, yet being curious enough to sign up.
Ashley Madison
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