The ‘Yes, I DiDi’ campaign created by Sunday Gravy, which first aired in 2025, has been pulled from free-to-air and paid TV after Ad Standards found that the spots presented the main character Nudgy in a way that “may incite ridicule or humiliation of a person or people with disabilities”.
Didi has since taken down the ad, but are set to lodge an independent review request for this matter.
“We have temporarily paused the advertisement while we work through this matter with Ad Standards,” Tim Farmer, head of brand marketing at DiDi Australia told B&T.
“We are incredibly proud of the campaign we have created in partnership with Sunday Gravy, and appreciative of the guidance of Get Skilled Access throughout. We sincerely hope this matter does not discourage brands from embracing diverse casting in the future or limit opportunities for people living with a disability to be represented in advertising.
“We look forward to working through the review process and reaching a resolution.”
B&T understands the campaign has been in market for an extended period across Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Wellington and Christchurch (NZ), with DiDi not receiving complaints relating to the brand world or the portrayal of Nudgy. It is now airing in Sydney.
Ad Standards was first alerted to the matter after complaints were received on the grounds that the spots are “disturbing and uncomfortable to watch”. Complainants noted that the ads appear to depict “drunken or sexualised content and behaviour”, and that such depictions were not appropriate for broader audiences.
The campaign contains three different ads.
Ad one starts with two men and a woman walking at night, when one asks, ‘Hey guys, should we have one of our massive, big nights out?’ at which point the DiDi mascot appears in a puff of orange smoke saying, ‘How you going?’, before playing his flute.
The ad then follows these friends and the DiDi mascot as they enjoy his flute playing in a car, sing and dance at a Karaoke bar, have a tickle fight in a convenience store, join a house party with a DJ, and dance in a bar while the DiDi mascot is playing on the counter.
In the final scene, the words, ‘Cheap trips so you can do more’ and ‘Yes, I DiDi’ appear on-screen.
The second spot opens with a scene where a model toy car with the DiDi logo on it is pushed up a street by a hand. In one corner, a model of a man vomiting appears, before cutting to the inside of a bar, where the DiDi mascot is shown on the counter playing a flute, while the customers are shown dancing along.
The camera focusses on an older couple who appear to be wearing leopard-print underwear, dancing along with their dog, before cutting to a scene where a man in a suit is rubbing his briefcase.
The closing scene shows the DiDi mascot gyrating on the counter as the words, ‘Cheap trips so you can do more’, and ‘Yes, I DiDi’ appear while a group of people is shown nodding up and down.
Ad three shows a group of people driving in the car with the DiDi mascot playing his flute. It then cuts to the friends singing at a Karaoke bar, while the DiDi mascot is shown gyrating on a table
nearby. A hand is shown requesting a DiDi ride, and one of the group says, ‘Ok, let’s go’ after which another DiDi vehicle is shown driving, with the DiDi mascot playing his flute out the window.
The group stop at a hot dog truck where a pair of identical twins are shown preparing a hot dog.
In the closing scene, the DiDi mascot is shown dancing on the roof of the DiDi vehicle while playing his flute, and the words ‘Cheap trips so you can do more’ and ‘Yes, I DiDi’ appear on-screen as the group of friends is shown jumping up and down at the hot dog truck.
Ad Standards found that the ads breached Section 2.1 of the AANA Code, as they vilified a character who appears to have a disability.
Under the federal Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA), disability is defined broadly to cover permanent or temporary, visible or invisible conditions, whether present from birth or acquired later. It encompasses physical, intellectual, psychiatric, sensory, neurological, and learning impairments, as well as physical disfigurements and disease-causing organisms.
The Panel noted that the Code defines ‘disability’ as ‘a current, past or potential physical, intellectual, psychiatric, or sensory illness, disease, disorder, malfunction, malformation, disfigurement or impairment, including mental illness.’ The Panel considered that being of short stature would fall within this definition.
Given the highlighted difference in Nudgy’s stature compared to all other people shown in the ad, the Panel discussed that these ads presented Nudgy as the ‘odd’ character, different to all
others, and meant to be a key element of the humour. The Panel considered that Nudgy was the only person depicted who was of shorter stature, and also the only one in a strange outfit with a strange appearance.
The Panel believes that viewers would likely interpret the emphasis on Nudgy’s short stature and unconventional appearance relative to other characters as referencing people with similar physical characteristics or conditions. It also discussed that this may be perceived as reminiscent of bygone activities where people of short stature were made to perform or were otherwise publicly ridiculed as a result of their relative size.
Given this, the Panel said that the ads presented Nudgy in a way that may incite ridicule or humiliation of a person or people with disabilities.
Whilst the Panel accepted that this was likely not the intention of the advertiser, it considered that the overall theme and depictions would be perceived as positioning Nudgy as the ‘odd one out’, the ‘weird’ or ‘funny-looking’ one in a manner that is contrary to community standards and vilifying of people with a disability.
Sunday Gravy engaged Get Skilled Access (GSA – co-founded by Dylan Alcott), a specialist disability inclusion consultancy, to work with us and DiDi throughout the development of the campaign in 2024 and 2025. GSA’s role covered both creative development and accessible production practices, rather than simply reviewing the work once it was complete.
This went beyond simply embracing diverse casting, ensuring the entire creative and production process was informed by lived experience and specialist disability inclusion expertise.
The creative concept was to build an absurd world around the idea of a great night out, with Nudgy positioned as the hero and champion of that world. Sunday Gravy worked directly with both GSA and the actor on the development and portrayal of the character.
The intent throughout was to ensure the character was considered, respectful and authentic, and that the humour came from the wider world and situations around him, not from his stature.
Sunday Gravy sought and actioned specific feedback from GSA throughout the process, including around the scripts, character portrayal, filming angles and direction.
This included practical creative decisions designed to avoid unnecessarily emphasising the actor’s stature, including positioning Nudgy at a similar visual height to other characters. The agency also ensured Nudgy was given dialogue and a central role as the hero of the campaign.
“We love working with DiDi and are incredibly proud of the work we’ve created together. We recognised the importance of respectful representation from the outset, which is why we worked closely with disability inclusion specialists Get Skilled Access throughout the entire creative and production process,” Ant White, co-founder and chief creative officer of Sunday Gravy told B&T.
“We valued their expertise and guidance from day one and look forward to this matter being resolved. Ultimately, we hope this doesn’t discourage brands and agencies from embracing diverse casting and creating more opportunities for people living with a disability in mainstream advertising.”
