The ad watchdog has received almost 100 complaints about Lynx's infamous 'Clean Your Balls' campaign, which has already been altered after previous complaints of ageism were upheld last month.
Approximately 15 seconds of the three-minute spot were cut after the Advertising Standards Bureau was flooded with almost 150 complaints after the innuendo-laden campaign's launch last month.
The ad, featuring Sophie Monk, is a mock-up of an infomercial wherein Monk's character tells the audience “balls, no one wants to play with them when they're dirty”. Men in the audience then offer up their dirty tennis balls, basketballs and cricket balls to be cleaned by Lynx's shower gel and body buffer.
The ASB ruled the original campaign was ageist as it referred to an older gentleman's “saggy old balls” that “no one had played with for years”. The ASB stated the ad showed “a negative depiction of an older person and that this depiction does amount to discrimination against older men” and Lynx cut the offending footage.
However, the campaign – which is running on TV, in cinemas and online – has continued to attract complaints relating to racism, objectification of women, inappropriate language and innuendo, with the ASB receiving more than 80 complaints in four weeks.
An ASB spokeperson told AdNews the complaints were “similar to the previous complaints”, but did not contain mentions of ageism.
AdNews was told a decision is expected before the end of the month.
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