Dr Mumbo

The ad that’s too offensive for Korean exchange students

Scrolling through adjudications of the Advertising Standards Board can sometimes give Dr Mumbo too much information on how his fellow Australian citizens think.

Particularly when reading the views of the type of person who not only dislikes seeing bra ads on television but also has the time to let the ASB know about it.

Specifically, Berlei’s Womankind ad, which Facebook decided to ban, although the ASB has now decided is okay for TV.

Among the 43 insightful complaints: “My 8 year old son after the commercial started to tell me they that boons (sic) are sexy and he went to google more boobs on the computer…”

Although fascinated by this new term ‘boons’ , Dr Mumbo was even more intrigued by the arrival on the scene of a Korean exchange student (although sadly no information was shared on whether the student was from North or South Korea).

“Yes, I have boobs myself, but I thought it was incredibly inappropriate as my father was there and our Korean exchange student and potentially my little sister. ”

Dr Mumbo is also keen to know whether the potential little sister yet exists or if that depends on the complainant’s father’s reaction to the ad.

However, Dr Mumbo was relieved to hear the prediction that breasts would be the only body part he would be exposed to. “Ad also includes bouncing breasts fully covered by t-shirts not even displaying a product. I doubt they would advertise a bouncing penis so why breasts.” Why indeed? Apart from that being the product advertised, of course.

“Do you show the tip of a mans penis when advertising mens underwear? NoWhy show women nipples with stickers?” asked another concerned citizen.

Also of concern was the important issue of people scratching their derrieres. Or not.

“That scene is very offensive, as women should not be degraded in that way. Yes Berlie (sic) can claim that ill fitting bras can cause itchiness, but so can ill fitting underpants, but it’s offensive to scratch bottoms on TV. So why are scratching breasts allowed on TV?”

Much to his dismay, Dr Mumbo quickly realised the ad he had just watched was in fact not an R-rated movie trailer.

“I thought it was advertising some r- rated movie as it was quite confronting and purely showed too much. We don’t get adverts with mens testicles flopping around inside their jocks do we?”

Apart from fellow Pacific Brands underwear brand ads Bonds work “the boys” of course.

However, it may have been a horror film in the end… it did leave some scared.

“My young girl feels intimidated about developing breasts after the viewing the ad. She thinks breast are painful and have red sores as depicted in the ad”.

Plus Dr Mumbo was intrigued to learn that the ad had an impact regardless of the viewer’s sexual orientation: “These ads NO NOT help when it puts the full focus on a women’s breast. Even my gay son turned away with this ad”.

But luckily, if there’s one defining characteristic of complainants to the ASB, it’s the fact that they never indulge in hyperbole. Or as one complainant put it:  “No doubt rapists and the like would be enjoying it”.

No doubt.

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