Now THIS is how you deploy the "ad designed to be banned" strategy.
Via Australia, of course:
What's not to love? The ad celebrates safer sex, it uses sexuality to sell in a playful way, and it isn't sleazy.
Australia's FreeTV "Commercials Advice" department (CAD) refused the ad for commercial broadcast. “CAD knocked it back asking for the removal of all sexual references,” Four Seasons founder and managing director Graham Porter told AdNews. “To connect with the younger demographic, you need to be irreverent and entertaining and to remove all sexual references in the TV ad defeats the purpose of this entire campaign. The fact is this is a critical safe sex message.”
The ads will run, however, in Australia's Hoyts cinema chain's theatres before screenings of Jackass: Bad Grandpa — aimed at a 16- to 24-year-old audience.
The ad was written and directed by comedian Gary Eck, known internationally as screenwriter for the children's movie Happy Feet Two.
This was a really fun spot, although we're sure they knew it would get banned. The thing that gives us pause is how an ad gets banned for being, actually, very clear and instructive about the purpose, application, variety and quality of the product it's selling… but because it is a product for normal sex it's banned.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, ads that use unrealistic sexual references to sell products and services that actually have NO benefits or application for sex, are somehow ok.
-ld
I agree! I won't show this to my 9-year-ols son, but I'd let 12s-up see it.
DeleteThat is actually amazing - highlights safe sex in a fun way. I agree with the comment above that it was likely to get banned, but at least we still get to see/enjoy it.
ReplyDelete