The ad watchdog has cleared a TVC for Zoo Weekly magazine despite complaints it was a sexist spot which aired in an inappropriate time slot.
In the ad, two young men at a kebab shop are served a large kebab by a buxom woman while images of bikini-clad women from the pages of the latest edition of Zoo Weekly are shown.
The Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) received complaints stating the ad denigrated marriage and relationships and aired during “a G-rated family show” alongside “an ad for a toy aimed at toddlers”.
“Advertising pornographic magazines on free to air TV is offensive full stop,” one complainant wrote. “You can't seem to go anywhere now days without pornography being displayed in some form or other.
“Young, influential minds should not have to have that rubbish shoved in their faces like that. Whatever happened to innocence? What kind of message does that send to them about relationships and marriage?”
Another complainant wrote: “My family was sitting down watching the Sunday afternoon footy and this was not suitable viewing for a G rated family show ... Channel 9 were expecting young kids to be watching the footy. This ad is not suitable for children.”
The publisher of Zoo Weekly, ACP Magazines, argued the ad was “clearly ... intended to be humourous” and “ clearly relevant to the nature of the magazine which is a men's magazine”.
“We believe that the advertisement is not exploitative or degrading of women,” ACP wrote. “The woman ... is simply serving two men food, there is no sense of her being humiliated or degraded. In fact, she appears to be in a position of power given that she looks down onto the two men.”
ACP also stated the PG-rated ad had been cleared by Free TV Australia to air in those timeslots.
The ASB ruled “the image of the woman's breasts in the [kebab] van ... was not offensive” as there was no “sexual connotation” in the ad.
The ad watchdog wrote: “The men [are] exhibiting lust towards the kebab, not the woman.”
Follow @AdNews on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.
Have something to say? Send us your comments using the form below or contact the writer at alexandraroach@yaffa.com.au
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.