Complaints about an ad for Sony Handycam showing a young woman transforming into an older woman as she kisses a young man have been dismissed by the Advertising Standards Bureau.
Viewers of the ad – the fifth most complained about this year – complained the embrace sent the wrong message by showing a couple who were years apart but involved in a passionate moment, with some even suggesting it had paedophilic overtones
The concept of the ad was to artificially speed-up the ageing of the woman while showing that her memory of the moment remained the same. The ad’s tagline is, “So clear, the memory never fades”.
However the ASB found that there was nothing illegal about the depiction.
Fiona Jolly, CEO at the ASB said: “The board determined that the young man and woman at the start of the ad were clearly of the age of consent and there was nothing to suggest that there was any distress or discomfort in their embrace.
“While the board noted that some members of the community might be uncomfortable with an older woman being involved with a younger man, it was clearly a fantasy situation which did not depict an illegal activity,” Jolly said.
In another case, complaints about a television advertisement for Bonds ‘hoodies’, which had a similar romantic theme, has also been dismissed on the grounds the images were not inappropriately suggestive.
The ad shows two older teenagers walking and running together, and as they embrace one another the young man pulls the hooded jumper over the young woman’s head.
“The board considered that the suggestion of two older teenagers kissing was romantic rather than inappropriate or sexually suggestive,” Jolly said.
