A Reddit advertisement from games entertainment venue Fortress Melbourne has been removed for "encouraging visitors to take psychedelic drugs" when in its venue.
The company was "very surprised to hear" that its ad was in breach of AANA code of ethics' 2.6 which states that advertising shall not depict material contrary to community health and safety standards.
The ad depicts two men in a game arcade playing a driving game. The ad text says: "Drive on mushrooms without breaking the law? Only at Fortress - Do it all at Melbourne's ultimate games restaurant & bar".
The ad via Ad Standards.
The complaint submitted to Australia's advertising complaints handling body Ad Standards said:
"The ad encourages taking psychedelic drugs when in venue/hanging out with friends, where the venue allows and encourages minors to attend, and offers them deals.
"Googling the words 'fortress driving on mushrooms' leads to https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/20086172/fpart/all as the 3rd hit, and customers trying to find the ad and more info about it are lead to websites promoting recreational drug use. 2nd hit on Google images is similar."
In response Fortress said:
"After reviewing the case, it appears that the advertisement in question is for the video game Smash Brothers and is centred around a gameplay mechanic. Additionally, the images in the ad clearly display a Mario arcade machine.
"It seems that some details may have been overlooked when the complaint was submitted."
Despite the ad's intent to reference the video game Mariokart, in which players drive a vehicle and can collect a mushroom as a bonus to increase speed. The panel noted that the caption of the ad did not mention the video game and although the seats in the image do have the M Mario logo, this is not prominent, particularly when viewed on a mobile device.
As a result, the Ad Standards panel found that the advertisement contains a clear suggestion of recreational drug use.
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