Amaysim burning lawn mower commercial banned by ad watchdog
Mobile phone plan provider Amaysim has had one of its “it’s time to say goodbye” ads banned for showing a man setting fire to a ride on lawn mower.
A complaint posted to the Ad Standards Board objected to the ad on the grounds it showed audiences, which included children, how to set fire to a ride on lawn mower.
great. it was a terrible ad anyway.
The advertiser should know that a ride on mower is not a “vehicle”.
The ASB should know that there is nothing about setting fire to one’s own property that is inimicable to community standards unless it is done maliciously, in perpetration of a fraud or is illegal (probably is).
The concept of the ad itself was quite good until the advertiser sought to depict its prospective customers as people who are so uninterested in saving money that they would burn a perfectly good and valuable mower when it became surplus to requirements. The ad was not at all instructive in the way the complainant suggested.
The main takeaways seem to be that complaints can make up for a small ad budget and ASB decisions often confound.
I love this ad it’s exactly what will happen to my ride when I finish with itn