In a world where Kim and Kanye’s son has the name, ‘Saint West’, you wouldn’t think there could be much more to complain about.
But some dear viewers down under have found reason to grumble over a handful of ads this fine year, so what else is there to do but share them with you?
The list compiled by the Advertising Standards Bureau includes the sleazy buggers looking for someone other than their wife, and that crazy PMS-version of women crying because some restaurant doesn’t deliver. But Holden’s cheeky hit at “bloody caravaners” was apparently the worst, most likely because little kids then started prefacing everything with “bloody”.
But enough fluff, here’s what really got your goat in 2015:
1. Holden Ltd’s “bloody caravaners” ad got people into a tizz about inappropriate language with 161 complaints, the most all year. Dismissed.
https://youtu.be/RsyFziWOhQE
2. Unsurprisingly, Ashley Maddison’s ‘Avid Life’ ad with all those men singing that damn tune about cheating came in at number two, with 138 complaints largely finding fault with the gender discrimination and vilification. Upheld.
3. Fantastic Snack Australia racked up 85 complaints because a woman licking flavouring off of her husband’s lips really freaked people out sexually. One complainant said, “It upsets my 85-year old mother because she does not like being inflicted with such explicit content”. She was just hungry, guys. Dismissed.
4. That bloody Unilever Australia ad about a ‘stereotypical’ woman on her period pissed people off with 76 complaints. Dismissed.
https://youtu.be/xKdN3G4VyoM
5. Concern for social values garnered 71 complaints over Sportsbet’s ad that showed a sweaty man, or as one complaint called it, “some mindless bogan”, at the gym wiping himself. Dismissed.
6. Stan’s ad that got Rebel Wilson to refer to a cat as a “big pussy”, which while funny didn’t appeal to the 66 people who whinged about it. Dismissed.
7. The Unilever Lynx ad that featured two men having a cheeky pash received 62 complaints. Dismissed.
8. A woman flicking her belt at a snake had 62 Aussies fearing for the welfare of animals in a Hyundai TVC. Dismissed.
9. SCA Hygiene’s advert for Handee Ultra, featuring people exclaiming “Oh Sheet!” managed to score 56 complaints for naughty language. Dismissed.
10. And finally, Edgewell and Schick Hydro’s ad for women’s razors, with ladies shaving their strategically located bonsai bush into, well, non-bushes, received 53 complaints. Also dismissed.
https://youtu.be/aKVfoKr0A94