Village Cinemas censured for accidentally broadcasting offensive ad on Smooth FM
A booking error has been blamed for a Village Cinemas radio ad which ran on Smooth FM and was deemed offensive by the ad watchdog.
The ad was promoting the Village Cinemas Date Night event, with the quote sourced from the John Cena film Blockers.
A complaint said to Ad Standards the ad aired while dropping her young children to after school activities and it included “inappropriate language”.
“Even my 11-year old son (the eldest in the car at the time) pointed out straight away that it was inappropriate language to be on the radio when kids are listening,” the complaint continued.
Village Cinemas said the ad aired due to a booking error made by Nova Entertainment.
“Nova Entertainment have accepted their error, and will apply due diligence for all future bookings,” Village Cinemas said.
Ad Standards said Smooth FM is an easy listening station which would generally be considered appropriate for children.
Upholding the complaint, Ad Standards said: “A specific references to losing virginity was not appropriate for this audience.”
Ad Standards also said the ad was likely to “cause offence” to specific members of the community.
Village Cinemas have said the commercial has been taken off air.
Abigail Dawson was Mumbrella's senior content journalist covering event content. She left Mumbrella to move into an agency role in 2020.
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