Online ad for ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’ pulled over inappropriate oral sex silhouette
An online ad promoting Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane’s new movie A Million Ways to Die in the West has fallen foul of the advertising watchdog for a scene in which oral sex is implied using silhouetted figures, which the Advertising Standards Board said most members of the community would find inappropriate.
The spot, which played prior to online content for The Voice, featured scenes from the movie where McFarlane’s character fires a gun at some cans, a woman appears to flash her genitals at a man and a man uses shadow puppetry to imply he was receiving oral sex. Similar scenes can be seen in the film’s trailer.
The complaint to the ASB said: “Sexually offensive content. The trailer could not be skipped and had to be played through to view The Voice clip. No warning was given. It is completely unacceptable for children. It is offensive to any decent person. It was shown on several clips.”
Universal Pictures defended the spot, telling the ASB the film’s digital activity had been “planned to be demographically targeted towards Ppl 16-39yrs”, however said that in light of the complaint the spot had been edited.
“This means that using Hotmail or other data available, Ninemsn can identify the demographic group and serve content accordingly. Given the tight targeting parameters in place, Ninemsn had given the go ahead to run with this creative.
“However in light of the complaint we have since changed the creative we are running across the campaign and specifically within The Voice. The ad that is now featured has been given a J CAD rating which means the content is ‘PG’ Style.”
In coming to its decision, the board noted the the ad had been approved by Ninemsn.
The board “noted the scene where oral sex is implied using silhouetted figures” and “considered that despite the use of silhouettes it is clear what is being implied is a sexual act between two men and that the accompanying language, “I’ll give you a little tap on the hat when I’m ready to go” amounts to an overall depiction of a sexual act which most members of the community would find inappropriate”.
As the ad was unable to be skipped or fast-forwarded and was placed prior to a program which appeals to families and children, the board ruled that it “did not treat the issue of sex, sexuality and nudity with sensitivity to the relevant audience”.
In response to the ruling, Universal Studios confirmed the ad had been pulled from online broadcast at the time and the complaint and was “no longer in creative rotation” and would not be used in future advertising.
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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A mIllion ways to die in the west
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Advertising Standards Board
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Seth McFarlane
