A complaint from a cancer sufferer against a “thoughtless” Airtrain Brisbane ad featuring the words “worry about getting a sweet tan, not about getting to the Gold Coast” has been upheld by the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) despite the advertiser saying it was a “loaded interpretation.”
The panel advertisement at Richmond Train Station took the format of a train stop map with the stops Brisbane Airport, City, Gold Coast and No Worries.
But the complainant took issue with the mention of the words “sweet tan” on the advertisement.
“As someone who developed a melanoma aged 25, and considering Australia has the highest incidence of melanoma in the world, I think this ad is thoughtless at best and dangerous at worst,” the complainant said.
“The desire for a tan has been part of the Australian culture since the mid-1900s, yet evidence has proven again and again that a tan is not safe - ever. A "sick tan" is not a thing.”
In response Airtrain said that given the ASB received a “sole complaint” it suggests that the general public does not share the same “loaded interpretation of the advertisement as the complainant or believe that the ad is contrary to their own standards on health and safety.”
“Airtrain though sensitive to the complainant’s history is concerned that her past experience has skewed her judgement of the advertisement,” it said.
“The sun is an important source of vitamin D which is necessary for a healthy and wellbeing. Therefore, a ‘sweet’/light tan is arguably unavoidable for a healthy lifestyle and therefore not in breach of the prevailing standards on health and safety.
“Further, the complainant has misread the advertisement and incorrectly believed it said ‘sick tan’ rather than ‘sweet tan’, which probably also skewed her views against the advertisement based on her own medical history.”
However the ASB board upheld the complaint noting that despite the complainant misreading the advertisement to read “sick tan” instead of “sweet tan”, the issue regarding tanning remained the same.
“The board understood that there is genuine community concern regarding sun exposure and sun smart behaviour and noted that the use of the term “sweet” in this way was suggesting that a tan is a good thing,” the ASB said.
“The board noted that the general community understanding of ‘sweet’ is equivalent to good and that there is nothing to suggest that the advertisement is referring to a ‘light’ tan.”
Airtrain noted that it will end the campaign between 6 – 13 September as a result of the determination.
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