In Hopefully The Last Piece Of News About The MLA Lamb Ad, ASB Dismisses Complaints

The most complained about ad in Australia’s history has been deemed fit for viewing and not in any breach of the code of ethics.
Yes, MLA’s Australia Day ad is still making news, but now it’s not the complainants making the news (all 600-and-something of them), but the Advertising Standards Bureau, dismissing all complaints about violence against vegans, racism and more.
At a meeting of the advertising standards board on Monday, the ASB came to the decision, releasing hundreds of pages of explanation and documentation to justify its decision. The board’s decision covers all versions of the advertisement.
The longest version, which only runs online, is two minutes, and has amassed around 1.7 million views on YouTube. The television version of the advertisement runs for 30 seconds.
The MLA advertising campaign encouraging people to eat lamb has become an annual event on Australia Day.
In a statement the MLA said it welcomed the decision.
“The advertisement has been viewed more than 4 million times across media channels and feedback remains overwhelmingly positive,” it said.
In case you’ve been hiding under a rock somewhere and missed the controversial spot, here it is:
Some of the statements regarding complaints included:
“The Board considered that the response from Lee Lin Chin to the news of the man being vegan is one of disappointment and a sense of failure associated with the whole operation and not being able to bring this patriot back to Australia because he is now vegan. The Board noted that the advertisement as a whole is intended to be humorous and has a movie-style theme to it.
“The Board noted that it had previously considered advertisements for other products (Budget Direct Captain Risky 0024/15) where the comedic and unrealistic nature of the advertisement as a whole created an overall tone that was humorous and fantastical and that the movie-style nature of the advertisement was evident to viewers. In the Board’s view, the comedic nature of this ad.
“The Board considered whether the vegan man is given ‘unfair or less favourable treatment ‘. In the Board’s view the man is not treated unfairly. He is not taken back to Australia – but this is not seen as being unfair to him as it appears that he does not want to eat meat so would not want to return to Australia for that reason. (side note: this is definitely the best line in the whole document).
“The Board first considered complainants’ concerns that the advertisement is discriminatory towards Indigenous Australians because of the reference to ‘Operation Boomerang.’ The Board noted that most members of the community would be familiar with the origins of a boomerang and its connection to Indigenous Australians. The Board also noted however the Macquarie Dictionary definition of boomerang to include a colloquial meaning of ‘something that is expected to be returned.’
“Finding that the advertisement did not breach the Code of Ethics, the Board dismissed the complaints.”
Hooray! Fingers crossed everyone now calms the eff down and gets on with it.
Please login with linkedin to comment
Advertising Standards Bureau Anytime Vision app creators Front Foot fruttare local news Newspaper of The Year Finalists YouTubeLatest News

opr Report: The Need To Rethink Content In A Post-Pandemic World
A new report shows the need for brands and organisations to rethink their approaches to marketing and communications content in a post-pandemic world. The new report, titled Future of Content and part of opr’s Futures series, takes an in-depth look at the changing way audiences find, consume, make and share content in Australia and around the […]

Are Media Appoints Jane Huxley As CEO, As Brendon Hill Departs
Are Media has announced the appointment of a new chief executive officer to replace Brendon Hill. Jane Huxley is the new CEO and starts with Are Media on Monday 26 April. Huxley is a highly experienced executive with a background in digital and technology businesses. Most recently Huxley was the regional managing director for Spotify, […]

Expedia’s Brand Positioning Takes New Direction
Expedia has announced a new brand direction as the world prepares for the return of travel demand. The online travel giant’s new global positioning is grounded in the understanding that who you travel with matters, and comes after months of customer research. From an updated look and feel to enhanced product offerings, Expedia is looking […]

New Research Says Queen Elizabeth’s Brand Bigger Than Oprah, Beyonce, Kim Kardashian
Study finds the Queen now the biggest celebrity brand in the world. Has still knocked back a guest appearance in Suits.

H&M Launches Free 24-Hour Suit Hire For Men With Job Interviews
H&M launches free suit hire for men with job interviews. Or, you could lie & wear it to a wedding or court appearance.

News Corp Strengthens Audience Data With New Capabilities And Digital Advertising Solutions
News Corp says we're not just appallingly behaved NRL players and Albo bashing, unveiling its latest data initiative.

Domino’s Stores On The Gold Coast To Raise Money For Kelly Wilkinson’s Family
Finally you can eat an entire garlic bread and actually feel good about yourself in this top initiative from Domino's.

“Don’t Drink & Start A League!”: Heineken Trolls European Super League
Beer ad says 'don’t drink & start a league!' That could also include don't drink & robot dance or propose marriage.

Entries Open For B&T’s Newest Awards: Best Of The Best!
B&T is celebrating Aussie adland's best of the best. Yet, sadly, there's no 'best luncher' or 'best moustache' category.

SodaStream Enlists Randi Zuckerberg For Earth Day Campaign, ‘Don’t Just Share, Care’
Randi Zuckerberg now flogging SodaStreams while, at the same time, studiously avoiding questions about the family.

As Research Shows Australians Only Wear Half Their Wardrobes Regularly, Levi’s Urges Aussies To ‘Buy Better, Wear Longer’
Research shows Aussies only wear half their wardrobes regularly. Understandable if it includes a muumuu or Gimp suit.

Chanel’s Attempt To Ban Huawei Logo Thrown Out Of Court
Whenever B&T reports on Huawei we appear to get a white van parked across the road with a satellite dish on the roof.

Equity Mates Media Joins The Acast Creator Network
Equity Mates Media, the number one finance and investing network for young Australians, has joined the Acast Creator Network. Its five podcasts, which are some of Australia’s favourites, will now be hosted and distributed by the creator-first podcast company Acast. Equity Mates Media was created to give everyday people the inspiration, information and confidence to […]

Sacked Mindshare CEO Nick Emery Resurfaces To Head You & Mr Jones’ $387M Media Division
Sacked Mindshare CEO Nick Emery's found a new role after six months. With Mrs Emery apparently commenting, "Hallelujah!"

Four Pillars, Qantas Release Centenary Gin
When B&T sends an angry text to an ex at 4am or wonders where our life went we choose to do it with Four Pillars Gin.

A Shot And A Sausage: Bunnings Say It’s Willing To Host Mass Vaccination Hubs
Bunnings to offer COVID vaccines to customers. Can then wheelbarrow you back to your car if you get a blood clot.

iStock Reveals Top Tips To Visualise Sustainability In ‘21
After an unprecedented year of challenges, iStock research has shown that Australians and New Zealanders are increasingly expecting businesses to communicate with greater empathy, both in terms of a brand’s language as well as its visuals. Celebrated globally on April 22, Earth Day presents a timely opportunity for businesses to put empathy into practice, iStock […]

Carla Zampatti Gives Final Family Photoshoot And Interview To The Australian Women’s Weekly
Carla Zampatti gives final interview to the Women's Weekly. Although, admittedly she didn't know it at the time.

Wednesday TV Wrap: Lego Masters Top Performing Entertainment Third Night In A Row Despite Viewer Drop
Hamish & Andy continue to prove they're the Pringles or Ben & Jerry's of Australian TV - you can't get enough of them.

ThinkNewsBrands Shifts To Roy Morgan For Readership Data, As emma Is Retired
Roy Morgan staff fearing a gutload more work after ThinkNewsBrands hands it its readership data.

Clems Melbourne’s Jonny Berger Joins CHEP As Managing Partner
It would appear the Bergers are better at CHE Proximity after Jonny jumps ship from Clems Melbourne.

The Number Of Australians Aged Over 75 On Social Media Doubled In 2020
Oldies flocking to social media. Presumably to complain about the price of Steradent & the whereabouts of Ginger Crisps.

Vitasoy Encourages Us To Grow A Better World By Drinking “Planet Milk” In New Brand Platform By Leo Burnett
Following strong urging from colleagues, the B&T editor has switched to Vitasoy yet remains as farty as ever.

Samsung Ads Bolsters Australian Presence With Three New Hires
Samsung Ads announces three new local hires who are all down the Telstra shop this morning switching to Android.

Starcom Wins Tourism Tasmania’s Media
Starcom wins Tourism Tasmania amid reports 'Boonie' is not being considered as the face of next campaign.

Pinterest And Shopify Expand Partnership
Pinterest and Shopify have announced the expansion of their partnership to 27 additional countries. The partnership will provide more than 1.7 million Shopify merchants around the world with an easy way to bring their products to Pinterest and turn them into shoppable Product Pins to be discoverable across the platform. With the evolution of the […]

Changing The Ratio: Think HQ’s Jen Sharpe And Sarah Said On Speaking Equally To All Australians
B&T forced to enlist the foldout picnic chair from the garage after chatting with not one but two of Think HQ's stars.

Taboola drives free advertising to six Australian women-owned businesses, as part of its new #RecommendHER program
Taboola, a global leader in powering recommendations for the open web, has powered free advertising campaigns for more than 100 women-owned businesses, including six Australian businesses, as part of its new #RecommendHER program.

Zenith Names Sarah Heitkamp As Head Of Strategy & Planning
Sarah Heitkamp to head Zenith's strategy & planning. Insists she won't be filling the meeting room with fluro Post-its.

How Brands And Retailers Can Create A Personalised Customer-First Experience
Why sit through a tedious four-hour boardroom meeting on personalised customer-first experience when you can read this.