‘Pussy whipped’ Prince Harry Sportsbet ad banned by watchdog
A Sportsbet TV ad suggesting Prince Harry is “pussy whipped” by his wife Meghan Markle has been banned by the advertising watchdog.
The ad featured two competitors in Sportsbet’s “Elite Average Games” competing in a towel-whipping contest.
The commentary voiceover stated: “Look at that wrist action. The bloke’s nearly as whipped as Prince Harry.”
The ad went to air shortly after Prince Harry announced that he was stepping back from Royal Family duties to pursue a more private family life with his partner, the American actress Meghan Markle.
One of the complaints to the Advertising Standards committee stated: “I’m concerned that belittling the choice to place family first sends a message that perpetuates a culture of toxic masculinity that promotes a culture of disrespect towards women.”
Defending the ad, Sportsbet tried to argue that the phrase “whipped” is merely a term of affection between a couple. It wrote:
“The ‘whipping’ reference relates to the topical and globally debated decision of Prince Harry stepping down from certain ‘royal duties’ as a result of his marriage (amongst other reasons). Being ‘whipped’ in this instance goes to the significance of what Prince Harry has sacrificed for love.
“It does not speak to Mrs Markle’s character or gender, being ‘whipped’ is a colloquial term used to describe a dynamic between two people who are besotted with each other (so much so that one may be influenced by the decisions of another).”
However, the Ad Standards Community Panel rejected that interpretation, stating that it preferred the Collins Dictionary definition. It said:
“The Panel noted that the phrase ‘whipped’ is commonly understood to refer to a heterosexual man who is deferring to his female partner in some way, and is usually used in a manner that suggests that the woman is domineering and that the male is powerless.
“The Panel noted that the phrase ‘whipped’ in this context is used as an abbreviation of ‘pussy-whipped’ which is a slang term suggesting a man is submitting to his partner’s will, implicitly under the threat of the denial of sexual activities
“The Panel considered that the use of the word ‘whipped’ in this manner implies that it is a negative matter for a woman to play an assertive role in a relationship, or for a man to defer to his female partner.
“The Panel considered that the use of the phrase ‘as whipped as Prince Harry’ was a phrase which suggests that women are domineering and controlling.”
The ruling is the second time in just six months that Sportsbet has been ruled by Ad Standards to have vilified women. Last year a Sportsbet ad featuring a “dumb blonde” beauty contestant was also banned.
However, the towel whipping ad was cleared of also having racist overtones, despite the name of the Chinese competitor being CH Ting (“cheating”).
Ad Standards said that most readers would not have noticed the competitor’s name as it was “not prominent”.
On a previous occasion, As Standards also cleared Sportsbet of racism over the naming of another Chinese character Mee Chee Ting.
Sportsbet is among Australia’s most banned advertising brands.
In 2018, Sportsbet created the most complained about ad of the year featuring a manscaping accident.
And in 2017, Sportsbet’s steroid-referencing ad featuring drug cheat Ben Johnson was also banned, after the brand argued that applying a moral com pass to advertising was “irrelevant”.
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FFS. Has it really come to this?
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