Uber Eats - Get almost almost anything.
A television advertisement from Uber Eats featuring a naked man has received a consumer complaint for inappropriate nudity.
However, the complaint was dismissed as the Ad Standards Panel found the nudity to be treated with sensitivity to the relevant broad audience.
The ad features a man standing in an Uber Eats bag on a wooden box in the middle of the lounge room.
The man pulls his underwear down and screams "Lets goooooo, wooo hooo." His genitals are blurred.
The text "Streaker No" appears on the screen. Followed by "Speaker Yes" and then "Uber Eats - Get almost almost anything."
The complaint submitted to Ad Standards raised concerns that the ad contains nudity which is inappropriate for the young audience viewing the advertisement.
"Sexual parts are revealed even though they're blurred you !! It has a man completely naked in the advert at 3:09 pm on channel 7 This is so inappropriate for kids to watch!!! Rude, nudity, inappropriate, and offensive!" the complaint stated.
"This is advertised during the AFL grand final where families with their children are watching! How dare they put this kind of ad on in this time frame and during a family watching time! Not right and should never be done! Very poor!"
In response, Uber claimed the ad does not breach the advertising standards.
"Uber submits that it is not insensitive to use the concept of a ‘streaker’, noting that streakers are typically humorously received (rather than offensively)," the brand stated.
"The advertisement treats the concept of a ‘streaker’ in accordance with the relevant, considered audience... mostly consist of adults aged 18- 54 years, with a smaller subset of supervised teenagers and children who would likely be watching with family."
The ad had received a ClearAds rating of ‘P’ meaning the advertisement can only be shown anytime of the day, except during P and C rated programming.
But there was a media placement mistake.
"Uber instructed that the advertisement only run after 8:30pm... due to a miscommunication in relation to various other assets and additional inventory offered by the media owner, the advertisement appeared before 8:30pm and in conjunction with the kick-off of the AFL Grand Final from 2:30pm," the brand stated.
"As soon as Uber became aware of this error, Uber instructed that the advertisement be removed from circulation before 8:30pm in line with the initial instructions."
In agreeance, the Ad Standards Panel noted that while the man is depicted as being naked, although his genitals are blurred, the ad does not contain nudity.
The Panel also found that the impact of the suggested nudity was lessened by the humour of the advertisement and the fact that the advertisement was not sexualised.
The ad did not breach AANA Code of Ethics\2.4 Sex/sexuality/nudity or any other code.
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