Ooh Media to allow controversial anti-horse racing billboard despite sponsoring races itself
Billboard owner Ooh Media has said it is not going to take down a controversial advert against horse racing as it does not allow its own views to “dictate” what ads run on its sites, despite the outdoor media company sponsoring racing events and a number of its own executives owning race horses.
“While we as a company are sponsors of racing events and a number of executives are owners of race horses, we do not see that these factors should dictate any reason for the advertising not to be displayed,” it said in a statement.
Yesterday the billboard on the CityLink freeway in Melbourne, which is set to run for a month ahead of the Melbourne Cup early next month, generated an angry reaction from the racing community, with Racing Victoria’s CEO Bernard Saundry labelling it “distasteful”.
Ooh’s comments come a month after the company pulled down a controversial free Palestine billboard following complaints it could incite hatred and violence.
In a statement Ooh Media said:
“At Ooh Media, we do not let our own views dictate what advertising is displayed or not.
“Ooh Media operates within strict guidelines with regards to the advertising that we display – based on Industry Codes and our own internal Policy
“Prior to accepting any booking for advertising, an internal review committee evaluates the creative against the Advertising Codes which are developed by the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) and administered by the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB).
“When there are concerns from the internal review committee, oOh! will seek third party guidance from the industry association, the Outdoor Media Association (OMA). If we and the OMA are satisfied the advertisement does not breach guidelines, we will accept the advert and display it unless it has the potential of among other things raising safety risks for our staff or the community or that there is potential threat to our property.
“In this case, the advertisement in question was reviewed not only by us but also the OMA and it was decided that there was no breach of the Code.
“While we as a company are sponsors of racing events and a number of executives are owners of race horses, we do not see that these factors should dictate any reason for the advertising not to be displayed.
“If however the ASB determines there has been a breach of the Code and requests the advertiser or us to remove or amend the advertising copy, we will obviously do so. Alternatively, in the event that any issue emerge which suggests that there will be risks to staff, the community or property, we will also review our decision.”
It was the risk to safety that led the company to pull a controversial free Palestine billboard in Melbourne at the end of August, citing commentary from political leaders who suggested it could incite hatred and concerns over the safety of contractors working at the site.
Meanwhile, the group behind the racehorse billboard has rejected Racing Victoria’s claims it is inappropriate and offensive, arguing it is inappropriate to kill horses when they are no longer profitable.
In his statement yesterday Racing Victoria’s Saundry said: “To put a dead animal, be it a horse, a dog or a cat, on a billboard is highly inappropriate and distasteful. The billboard is offensive both to the 70,000 participants within the Victorian thoroughbred racing industry who love and care for their animals and indeed to the wider community who are travelling past this distasteful image.”
However, Ward Young, a spokesman for The Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses, told Mumbrella the aim of the billboard is to “raise awareness about what currently happens to racehorses in a number of different fashions”.
“There are the dozens of horses sent to slaughter every year because the racing industry doesn’t have a retirement plan for them. That’s one of the key goals we want to raise awareness about and get racegoers and punters to demand animal welfare changes within the racing industry,” he added.
On the reaction of the racing community, Young said: “They’re [Racing Victoria] very much on the defence as we would expect them to be. The feedback from the community has been overwhelmingly positive. We’ve had a lot more people say to us we’ve done a great job and it’s great we’re speaking out for race horses and people have even donated to us as a result of this billboard.”
Responding to Victoria Racing’s comments that the billboard was inappropriate, Young said: “It’s inappropriate to shoot horses in the head and kill them for dog meat when they’re no longer profitable or kill them in jump races.”
Young said the group had not heard of any complaints made to the Ad Standards Board, however he told Mumbrella he understood the racing industry is talking to the government “to see what they can to do to try and have it pulled down”.
“We believe that is totally hypocritical, they’re the ones that killed that horse, not us. Don’t shoot the messenger,” he said. “If Bernard Saundry says a picture of a dead animal on a billboard is offensive we would say you need to take down every billboard advertising ham, chicken and bacon products as well.”
Saundry has rejected the claims of the organisation, saying: “The inference that horse racing kills its equine athletes is misleading and very disappointing for the many people within our industry who have spent the best part of a lifetime caring for horses.
“The average fatality rate in Victorian thoroughbred racing is the lowest in world racing and we are working hard to reduce it even further through stricter medication controls, significant investments in improving tracks and training facilities and the funding of major research studies.
“Beyond the track, the vast majority of participants retire their racehorses in an appropriate manner and through initiatives like our Off the Track Program we are working to ensure that every healthy thoroughbred has a fruitful life after racing.”
Miranda Ward
Miranda Ward worked for Mumbrella from 2013 to 2017, eventually becoming deputy editor. Miranda joined Mumbrella in September 2013 from Sky News.
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I am thrilled to see an ad that finally uncovers the gritty underbelly of the racing industry. Well done!
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Obviously Ooh! won’t let personal views stand in the way of revenue, however accompanying billboards with their logo is essentially endorsing the content.
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Every time someone criticised horse racing I kill a horse.
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“In his statement yesterday Racing Victoria’s Saundry said: “To put a dead animal, be it a horse, a dog or a cat, on a billboard is highly inappropriate and distasteful.”
I would suggest that the thousands of racehorses KILLED each year because they arent fast enough is slightly more “distasteful”
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For most parts (and I am sure there are exceptions) race horses are very well looked after (particularly the top ones.) All the evidence suggests that they actually enjoy running and jumping – as they do in the wild. Horse racing is one of the biggest sports in this country and to suggest (as the ad does) that most Australians would condone cruelty to the animals is a gross untruth. Are some horses euthanized once they’re no longer of use to the industry? Very much so. As are 1000s of cats, dogs etc each week when they’re no longer of use. I think these sorts of ads create an hysteria that dabbles with the truth.
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Yes it is distasteful, it’s distasteful the way horses are treated for our amusement. People would rather walk around with their head in the sand so they can drink champaign and have fun. See also pigs, no one wants to know how badly they are treated because bacon is tasty! Humans are horrible!
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Very happy to see that common sense has prevailed and freedom of speech is being allowed. As mentioned in the article, the industry killed the horse, not the group publicising it. Until the racing industry cleans itself up, it will be its own worst enemy.
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I used to enjoy the races until the day a very fine horse (at one of the top racing events in the country) broke its leg and in clear and obvious distress and with a horrific injury tried to gallop on. Eventually the horse was stopped, screens came out, a truck backed up behind the screens and when the screens were removed the horse wasn’t there anymore.
Was it worth it for the day’s entertainment? No, it bloody wasn’t. I haven’t been to the races since and won’t support the industry by gambling or watching on TV.
And as for race horses being treated well, some very basic research tells you that far from being euthanised, up to 20,000 aspiring or retired race horses are sold every year to become pet food. Euthanasia is a term reserved for killing animals who are sick or in distress when there are no other options. The horse with the broken leg I refer to above was euthanised (behind a screen, by a bullet or a bolt gun). But that isn’t the fate of most of them. We kill them because they don’t meet our needs for entertainment or gambling or fun or whatever you want to call it. Not euthanasia. Killing.
Its completely unnecessary.
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Great work CPR! Horses including those subjected to jumps racing are only seen for their profit value. More needs to be done by Racing Victoria in an effort to truly protect the welfare of horses. Too many horses are dying simply for sport and entertainment purposes.
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Methinks the racing industry protests too much – as usual. Their hysterics every time the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses does or says something that casts a spotlight on the industry’s dubious practices really say it all. They’re terrified at the growing number of people who believe that horses are not ours to use for entertainment, and are not disposable trash to be chucked the minute they no longer earn their owners/trainers/jockeys/Racing Victoria money. And they’re certainly not a convenient excuse to go out and get trolleyed at the track!
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This isn’t a question on whether the subject matter is controversial – it’s a matter of whether or not standards have been breached. Who here, amongst all us media minds, can black and white argue that this is illegal?
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Its a well known fact among Australian farmers that inferior racehorses are slaughtered and sold to butchers as mortadella.
Well done to oOh! for keeping this up.
PS – Will you be visiting your local deli any time soon?
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So hang on, a animal rights group just spent tens of thousands of dollars to raise awareness about the plight of dozens of horses a year? Why didn’t they just buy the themselves considering the number is so very very small? How ridiculous.
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However, Ward Young, a spokesman for The Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses, told Mumbrella the aim of the billboard is to “raise awareness about what currently happens to racehorses in a number of different fashions”.
“There are the dozens of horses sent to slaughter every year because the racing industry doesn’t have a retirement plan for them. That’s one of the key goals we want to raise awareness about and get racegoers and punters to demand animal welfare changes within the racing industry,” he added.
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I find every racing industry billboard advertising The Melbourne Cup, deeply offensive.
It is wonderful to see a billboard that fianlly tells the truth about the racing industry.
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Well done, CPR. Thank you for bringing this unscrupulous enterprise to the awareness of the community. Using sentient beings for commercial profit is odious to me. As ethologists (scientists who study animals in their natural habitats) say from their own research and studies, “animals have lives that matter to them”. They say that animals have their own ‘telos’, ie. purpose in life, which therefore follows that their purpose is not to serve humans. But we have made the arrogant assumption that animals are ours to use, abuse, and exploit. This is just another manifestation of the offensive: ‘might makes right’, propaganda.
Furthermore, although these horses are treated well, it is PRIMARILY for the sake of profit. I’m sure there would be some people in the racing industry who do love their horses, but in the end, they are a means to an end.
Again, well done, CPR.
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I just drove over the Bolte Bridge in Melbourne where this billboard used to be and it is now blank. Not sure whether that’s because Ooh! was under pressure – that billboard was even criticised by the Lord Mayor this morning on 3AW – or for other reasons.
Interesting that Ooh! had the ‘dead horse’ billboard on one side, and APN the other side with multiple Spring Racing Carnival billboards.
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Strictly from a communications perspective I’m not sure this will impact anyones behaviour much. Confronting peoples cognitive dissonance or intention-action gap without offering a resolution is a recipe for inaction. Yeah it’s bad but la la la I’m not listening. Prevalence.
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Pipe-down fun police. You can all stay at your desk on the afternoon of the first Tuesday in November.
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Gai…happy to. Will wear the ‘fun police’ badge with pride, while working at my desk like I do every Tuesday. At least I know my actions won’t contribute to the unnecessary deaths of thousands of horses every year.
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Well done CPR! Caring people bringing attention to the truth behind the glamour advertised in the racing industry. A broken leg, a bullet to the head. If you don’t like the billboard, bad luck. You can’t handle the truth! Or maybe you just don t care.
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Brilliant work Ooh and CPR!! So happy racing’s true colors are finally being exposed.
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