Not F***ing Cool BCF: Ad Standards Dismisses Swearing Complaints

The advertising standards board (ASB) has recieved several complaints about a TVC for boating, camping, fishing company BCF.

The campaign which was a collaboration between Clemenger BBDO Brisbane and Melbourne, aired during the Grand Finals with a hard-to-get-out-of-your-head song that captures the fun of Boating, Camping and Fishing.

Check out the campaign below:

A sample of comments which the complainant/s made regarding this advertisement included the following:

The play on words is inferring language that is totally unnecessary to be broadcast into homes at any time particularly when children are viewing. I and my family and friends do not use this type of language in our normal day to day living and do not wish to be subjected to it on television either. Lift the standards instead of contributing to the constant degeneration of our society.
The ad specifically refers to boating, camping and fishing and uses the words ‘F…..ing’ on a number of times. This ad was in a time when children would be watching, and should not be on air.
I do not believe my family should be exposed to this word play, especially my children who would be likely to repeat the jingle.
The language used in the ad is offensive.
No need for the F word on TV especially during prime time
The not so subtle substituting of this word for the f word is simply not acceptable. This is totally offensive to me and my family.

In response to the complaint, a representative said: “The strategic position of the advertisement is intended, given the nature of the business, to broaden the appeal of boating, camping and fishing as a way for anyone to escape the humdrum of the working week. The specific execution through a jingle assists to create an infectious sense of joy for the outdoors and drive cut through by repeating the brand name BCF 5 times in 30 seconds.

“The complaint refers to the meaning of ‘BCFing’ in the jingle, suggesting that the ‘F’ denotes offensive language (Section 2.5 of the AANA Advertiser Code of Ethics). This is not correct as the letters BCF have a direct translation to Boating, Camping and Fishing which is our core business and brand name. In the jingle, the lyrics “BCFing Fun” directly translates to “Boating, Camping, Fishing fun” which drives our strategy to highlight the joy associated with outdoor leisure past times”.

The Board agreed- the tone of the jingle is light rather than aggressive and there is a clear link between the brand name, the brand abbreviation and the lyrics of the jingle.

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