This just in from Mumbrella:
Vic Roads’ controversial ‘Don’t Be A D-ckhead’ road safety campaign has been cleared by the Advertising Standards Board despite an avalanche of complaints. Many of the complaints focused on the fact that redheads were made figures of fun in the series of ads.
But the Board ruled: “…the Code does not refer to hair colour or physical attributes of a person and considered that having red hair is not a disability.”
Which must be a relief to the Coalition. B Loughnane and co, you’re in the clear.
As Barnaby Joyce put it most eloquently on Q&A last night: “Nobody wants to see you beat up on a chick — it’s a bad look.”
But with the bookies pointing their wallets at a late August election, it’s time for the Liberal Party to hastily dispense with 50,000 Rudd stress balls and get gingeing.
Just one question: how do you top Kevin O’Lemon?
(Advertising suggestions for the Coalition based on the ginge theme to boss@crikey.com.au please.)
Doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with this ad. But what happened to the one that said everytime you a) use a mobile phone while driving, b) break the speed limit, or c) whatever, two “gingers get fresh”, implying that it would be a bad or stupid thing for redheaded people to breed.
Given that being redheaded is a specific genetic characteristic, could this government, which equates redheads breeding with being a dickhead, be comapared to other ‘socialist’ governments that have tried to discourage people of certain genetic types from breeding? Isn’t there a word for that, like, Eugenics, or something? Slippery slopes, people.
I’m not a huge proponent of PC, but the government that is should respect its own rules. Redheads are not “disabled” and no-one was implying that they were: Who’s a dickhead now?
What did happen to the “gingers getting fresh” ad?
Oh yeah, and the coalition campaign slogan: How can someone without a soul be trusted to run the country? Tony Abbott says no to rangers. Stop the red peril.
I’ll confess to being a balding blonde, but this ad perplexed me.
How does an ad agency leap from a sentimental but obscure saying like ‘every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings’, via redheadism to a message about mobile phones??
Am I missing something? Is ‘every time Y happens Z gets his wings’ a Gen Y saying?
I’m with Graeme O.
This looks like it was pitched by someone from an ad agency who’d had a night out with too much Colombian marching powder.
But then Vic Roads has never been the most demanding of clients. 🙁
As for giving suggestions to the Opposition about rangas etc…. Forget it!!
They can think up their own lame memes.
Crikey should stick to the *real* issues confronting the country.
Like ….Every time Christopher Pyne raises a point of order….. A unicorn dies. 🙂
I’m with Paddy and Graeme O, what the…?
But then again, we may be the wrong demographic target for this ad so it doesn’t matter if we understand it or not. As long as the mobile phone/texting cretins get it.