Advertising Standards Bureau Review of Operations 2015 | Page 44
In many cases, the Board considered that
obscuring an obscene term so that it was not clear
what is being said, in a non-aggressive context, is
appropriate for use in advertising.
•
I n advertising, where the term ‘fuck’ is not
used in full, and is not used in conjunction
with offensive imagery, it is seen to not
amount to an inappropriate use of language
or language that would be considered strong
or obscene.
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sandwich board carried by a person
A
which had ‘Thank F&$@ it’s Friday’
written on it (The Victory Hotel –
--
Religious expressions
Advertisements using religious themed
terminology attract complaints about blasphemy
or offensiveness to religious beliefs. The Board’s
view was:
•
0396/15).
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--
•
•
e implication of a mild swear word in
Th
an advertisement, which is used in a way
consistent with how most people would use
the word, is not inappropriate and would not
be considered strong or obscene language by
most members of the community.
--
television advertisement for paper
A
towels which featured a variety of people
exclaiming ‘oh sheet’ when they spilled
something (SCA Hygiene Australasia –
0291/15 and 0342/15).
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television advertisement depicted a
A
man watching sport and responding
with ‘What the…’, cutting off his
next word, but his daughter holds
out a swear jar (Yum Restaurants
International – 0004/15).
d