Sportsbet, Ultra Tune, Ashley Madison and Libra feature in the most complained about ads of the decade

Sportsbet’s ‘Manscaping’ ad has topped Ad Standards’ list of the most complained about ads of the decade.

The list, revealed by the advertising industry watch dog, compiles the 10 Australian ads which received the most complaints to its community panel. Four of the top 10 ads were banned as a result of the complaints.

Sportsbet’s ad, which featured a man shown from the waist up ‘manscaping’ in the bathroom, with his leg on a chair shaving his genitals, received 793 complaints in 2018, the year it went to air.

Coming in second on 781 complaints was a 2015 ad for adultery website, Ashley Madison, which saw a group of married men singing “I’m looking for someone other than my wife”. In 2015, Ashley Madison was famously embroiled in a hacking scandal in which the emails, names, home addresses and credit card details of all of its customers was stolen and publicly released. The complaints were upheld and the ad was pulled.

Third was 2019’s Libra #BloodNormal campaign, which was the most complained about ad of 2019. The ad openly depicts the experience of a woman on her period, showing a series of young women in everyday scenarios such as swimming, showering and having dinner with friends. Red liquid also replaces the traditionally used blue liquid to demonstrate the absorbency of the pads. It received 738 complaints, which were dismissed by the Ad Standards panel.

ISelect’s 2018 advertisement, which showed a woman aggressively hitting a piñata, came in as the fourth most complained about ad of the decade. The 716 complaints put towards the panel were upheld, because the ad showed “extreme anger” and “violence”.

Two ads for Ultra Tune came in fifth and sixth, from 2017 and 2016 respectively. The earlier entrant, with 716 complaints, showed two women attempting to extinguish a fire caught on the muffler of their car, before it explodes and they have to be rescued by a man. The second entrant, which received 419 complaints, depicted two women in skin-tight outfits stating “We love rubber”. Both rounds of complaints were dismissed by the Ad Standards panel.

Meat and Livestock Australia’s 2016 Australia Day offering, Operation Boomerang, came next with 376 complaints. The ad saw Lee Lin Chin leading the rescue of Australian ex-pats going without lamb on Australia Day. The complaints were dismissed.

A second entry from Sportsbet, starring disgraced rugby player Todd Carney came eighth. The 2019 ad harked back to Carney’s 2014 ‘Bubbler’ incident, in which a photo of him appearing to urinate in his own mouth, with him standing next to a replica of the Belgian Manneken Pis statue, a sculpture of a urinating boy. The ad also took aim at vegans and an internet scam victim. The complaints were dismissed.

A child imitating celebrity and profanity-prone chef, Gordon Ramsay, for meal deliver service Youfoodz, was banned in 2017 after receiving 307 complaints. Throughout the ad the word ‘forking’ is used as a replacement for ‘fucking’, thus making the panel concerned that the ad’s language had gone too far.

And finally, the 10th most complained about ad was for betting company Neds. The ad shows a man pretending to be stuck telemarketing call, while he uses the app in another room away from his wife. The 2017 ad received 307 complaints, but no action was taken by Ad Standards.

1. Sportsbet – TV – Free-to-air
   A man is seen naked from the waist up and appears to be manscaping.
   Upheld
   Number of complaints: 793
   Issues of concern: 2.1 – Discrimination or vilification, 2.2 – Exploitative or degrading, 2.3 – Violence, 2.4 – Sex/sexuality/nudity.
2. Ashley Madison – Avid Life – TV – Free-to-air
   TV ad featuring married men singing ‘I’m looking for someone other than my wife’.
   Upheld
   Number of complaints: 781
   Issues of concern: 2.1 – Discrimination or vilification, 2.2 – Exploitative or degrading, 2.4 – Sex/sexuality/nudity.
3. Asaleo Care – Libra – TV – Free to Air
   Various period-related visuals appear on screen promoting the #bloodnormal campaign.
   Dismissed
   Number of complaints: 738
   Issues of concern: 2.1 – Discrimination or vilification, 2.2- Exploitative or degrading, 2.3 – Violence, 2.4- Sex/sexuality/nudity, 2.6- Health and safety.
4. iSelect – TV – Free-to-air
   A woman aggressively hits a piñata in front of a group of children.
   Upheld
   Number of complaints: 716
   Issues of concern: 2.1 – Discrimination or vilification, 2.3 – Violence, 2.6 – Health and safety.
5. Ultra Tune Australia – TV – Free-to-air
   Two women are driving a car when the muffler falls off and starts a fire. They produce fire extinguishers and attempt to stop the fire, before leaping away as the car explodes.
   Dismissed
   Number of complaints: 421
   Issues of concern: 2.1 – Discrimination or vilification, 2.2 – Exploitative or degrading, 2.4 – Sex/sexuality/nudity, 2.6 – Health and safety.
6. Ultra Tune Australia – TV – Free-to-air
   Two women fully dressed in skin-tight rubber outfits with very low cleavages. They look seductively at the camera and dance around. The ad says “We’re into rubber”.
   Dismissed
   Number of complaints: 419
   Issues of concern: 2.1 – Discrimination or vilification, 2.2 – Exploitative or degrading, 2.4 -Sex/sexuality/nudity.
7. Meat and Livestock Australia LTD – TV – Free-to-air
   The basis of the ad is to bring Australians home from other countries for Australia Day to have lamb chops on the barbeque.
   Dismissed
   Number of complaints: 376
   Issues of concern: 2.1 – Discrimination or vilification, 2.3 – Violence, 2.6 – Health and safety.
8. Sportsbet – TV – Free-to-air
   Protestors, a scam victim and Todd Carney are all promoting the Sportsbet app in stereotypical situations.
   Dismissed
   Number of complaints: 366
   Issues of concern: 2.1- Discrimination or vilification, 2.4 – Sex/sexuality/nudity, 2.5- Language, Wagering Code.
9. Youfoodz – TV – Free-to-air
   Child believed to be impersonating Gordon Ramsey selling a ready-made food.
   Upheld
   Number of complaints: 307
   Issues of concern: 2.5 – Language, 2.6 – Health and safety.
10. NEDS – TV – Free-to-air
    A man receives a telemarketing call during dinner and tells his partner it’s the office. He then moves to another room and asks the telemarketer to repeat their pitch whilst he uses the Ned’s app.
    Dismissed
    Number of complaints: 307
    Issues of concern: 2.6 – Health and safety, Wagering Code.

Zoe Wilkinson

Zoe Wilkinson was a reporter at Mumbrella and the producer of the Mumbrellacast from March 2019 to May 2021.

topics ad standards Ashley Madison blood normal Bloodnormal iSelect Libra Meat and Livestock Australia MLA Neds Sportsbet Ultra Tune Youfoodz

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