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December 2016
 

 


Sportsbet footage has viewer fuming

Paradise escape ad not sexist, watchdog rules

Holiday accommdation far from paradise

Holiday accommodation far from paradise

By Dennis Amor
Have your say

A TELEVISION advert depicting an old woman sitting outside a decrepit caravan was not sexist, Australia's advertising watchdog has ruled.

Sportsbet's Punters Club 90-second advertisment has upset at least one viewer who protested to the Advertising Standards Board, claiming it was sexist and degraded women.

"I take offence," he fumed.

The advertisement portrays an end-of-year trip in which five men turn up in the middle of nowhere only to be greeted by the smiling woman in red singlet and short shorts sitting on an old sofa outside a dishevelled old caravan named Paradise Escape.

It is surrounded by dogs and furniture resembling "a rubbish pile".

The men beat a hasty retreat, disappearing in a cloud of dust.

Sportsbet argued that the advertisement "in no way" depicted material discriminating against or vilifying a person on account of gender.

"Sportsbet believes that the complaint lacks foundation and should be dismissed," it told the board.

In its written decision, the board noted the complainant's concerns that the footage depicted the men reacting to a woman in a negative way.

But it added: "In the board's view, the overall suggestion is that the men are running from the caravan and the overall situation (a roadside in the middle of nowhere) rather than from the woman."

Advertisers were free to use who they wish in their advertisements but it was "unfortunate" that in this instance they chose an older woman.

"In the board's view it is not uncommon for a woman to run holiday accommodation," the board said.

"However the woman is not the main focus of this scene but incidental to it."

The board considered that the advertisement did not portray or depict material in a way which discriminated against or vilified a person or section of the community.

It ruled the advertisement did not breach the Advertiser Code of Ethics and dismissed the complaint.

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