Bomb-defusing Sportsbet ad deemed safe by ad watchdog

A Sportsbet television commercial featuring a man defusing a bomb has been cleared by the ad watchdog despite complaints arguing the ad is “insensitive and wrong”.

The 15-second ad promoting bets for the third State of Origin match included a man defusing a bomb to intense music as a voiceover interrupts by saying ‘Kaboom’.

Despite Ad Standards concluding the ad did no portray violence or have any obvious link between the “movie-like behaviour” and actual terrorism, a complaint said the ad should be promptly withdrawn.

The Panel ruling on the case, however, disagreed.

“The Panel noted there was a resolution to the advertisement where a small puff of smoke is released and considered that this resolves any tension there may have been in the advertisement,” the ruling said.

“The Panel considered that the background music to the advertisement is light-hearted and not menacing and that the overall effect of the advertisement was not distressing or alarming,” the Board added.

Earlier in April, Ad Standards banned an iSelect ad for showing violence when a woman was depicted smashing an Easter Bunny shaped piñata.

That same month Sportsbet had another one of its ads banned for portraying an inappropriate level of nudity to an audience which would include children.

The ad showed a man from the waist up “manscaping”.