George Clooney’s jealous Nespresso husband and Isla Fisher’s ‘ginger discrimination’ cleared by ASB
Ads fronted by celebrities George Clooney and Isla Fisher have both been cleared of breaking Australia’s advertising codes of practice.
A member of the public complained that an ad for Nespresso featuring Clooney objectified women, while another felt that ING’s ad fronted by Fisher discriminated against people with ginger hair.
The Nespresso ad “Change Nothing” is the latest global execution in the capsule coffee manufacturer’s decade-long campaign fronted by Clooney.
It features British actor Ian McShane aa a jealous gangster who has Clooney beaten up for flirting with his wife.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqQpXcYBvA8
A complaint to the ASB stated: “This perpetuates the objectification and ownership of women – that a woman is not free to talk to a man who is not her husband is offensive and links to domestic violence.”
The ad was created by McCann Worldgroup‘s New York and Paris offices. Defending the ad, Nespresso owner Nestle said:
“The interaction between the two is a friendly exchange initiated by the female and there is nothing to suggest that there is any discrimination or vilification of the female character based on her gender.
“The character played by Ian McShane is intended to mimic the villains he typically portrays, and the advertisement follows the typical plot of a gangster movie such as The Godfather.
“The female character is not shown in a negative or unfavourable light and both male characters are depicted protecting what is important to them – the “Boss” character is seen to be protective of “The Family” – in this case, his wife, while George is protective of his Nespresso coffee.
“We feel that the advertisement has been presented in such a way that shows the events are clearly exaggerated and well understood by the viewer to be intended as a humorous and light-hearted parody of the gangster genre of film and could not be taken seriously by the audience.”
Agreeing with the Nespresso interpretation, the ASB ruled:
“The Board noted the complainant’s concern that the advertisement suggests that women are not free to speak to men who are not their husbands. The Board noted that the husband of the woman in the advertisement is clearly protective of his wife but considered that his jealousy is borne out of his wife talking to a famous movie star rather than a suggestion that this, or any, woman is not free to speak to another man.
“The Board considered that the advertisement does not suggest that women are owned by their husbands and does not portray or depict any material in a way which discriminates against or vilifies a person or section of the community on account of gender.”
The board added that the “subsequent depiction of George with a bruised face is intended to be a light-hearted depiction of George’s protection of his coffee in spite of a threat from a jealous husband, and is not a suggestion that it is acceptable to use violence if your partner speaks to a member of the opposite sex”.
Meanwhile, the ASB’s other celebrity ad ruling for January came after a complaint about actress Isla Fisher poking fun at her own hair colour in her ongoing series for ING Direct.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IAUtp6anhw
Citing “reverse discrimination”, the complaint said:
“The lady in the advert asks why she can’t be in the ad. The guy responds by saying we need real people. The celebrity replies I am real do you think I would have chosen this colour hair if she wasn’t real. Suggesting that having red hair means there’s something wrong with you or a lesser person than someone with another colour hair. It’s discrimination against ginger coloured people if the add had a black person who said do you think I would have chosen this colour skin there would be a massive outcry. Reverse discrimination !!!”
Defending the ad, ING Direct said Fisher, who collaborates on the campaign scripts, was a “proud advocate of having red hair”. It wrote:
“Isla’s character is quirky, irreverent and pokes fun at herself rather than generic comment to others and in this specific scene, people with red hair.
“We are extremely proud to have Isla Fisher as our brand ambassador, who has natural red hair herself. This specific line was intended to make fun at herself, continuing her self-deprecating character, to prove her authenticity and in context to creative construct (Isla gets jealous of a real customer who is doing a fabulous job on stage and happens to have the same colour hair as Isla – a hair colour she is famous for in a very positive way).
“Isla is a proud advocate of having natural red hair and through her Hollywood career, has always remained true to her natural colour.”
Noting that a previous complaint about a version of the ad had already been cleared, the ASB ruled: “In this instance the advertisement does not present red hair in a negative light or suggest that people with red hair should be thought less of.”
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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Discriminating against ginger hair? Get a life; seriously
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I still have red hair at 63. Its been a good color. Proud of my natural roots. 🙂
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