The Advertising Standards Bureau

Currently Listening To :: Cold Hard Bitch :: Jet

One of the fun things about working on a brand that generates so much love and loathing are the complaint letters from irate viewers of our ads. A lot of them start with the line: "I'm not being a prude..." but usually end with something along the lines of "...I cringe at the thought of this ad, and wish that it were banned and completely removed from TV immediately." The pot calling the kettle black I hear you say? Well, consumers are know to be a backflipping bunch...

I'm beginning to respect the people who come out and say, "I don't like your ad for these reasons. Can you please do something about it?" To which I'd reply, no.

Dear X,

Re: LYNX Advertising Complaint

In regards to the complaint that you have forwarded to us, we regret that the LYNX Touch TVC has caused any offence, however we do not believe that this offence is justified. Please find below our detailed response.

- One of the main issues of the complaint forwarded to us appears to be the level of sexual innuendo and objectification of women. However, we believe that the level of innuendo is not inappropriate, and the advertisement doesn’t objectify women, all of whom are wearing clothing that could be considered normal, everyday wear.

- Further to this, the main character in the advertisement is oblivious to the effect he is having on the women until the end of the advertisement. The storyline is intended to be playful and tongue-in-cheek and the directors treatment (e.g. sweat droplets, woman biting her lip) is merely meant to convey a level of tension between the characters.

- The main character does not intend to demean or objectify women in any way. His actions are merely a creative device to both entertain and grab the attention of viewers. His actions and the results are clearly not realistic, and it is a tongue-in-cheek humour that the ad is trying to convey, in line with the spirit of the brand itself.

- With regard to Rule 2 of the Code Of Ethics, we believe this advertisement does indeed treat sex, sexuality and nudity with sensitivity to the relevant audience. Having had the advertisement cleared by FACTS (Federation of Commercial Television), we are targeting the relevant audiences by utilising appropriate versions of the advertisement based on program schedules.

- Finally, we have made every effort to be responsible in media placement of this commercial, restricting it to post 8:30pm. In this programming environment particularly, the advertisement shouldn’t been seen as crude or distasteful.

Got knowlegde? Good.