The Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) has cleared advertisements for Pizza Hut and Maltesers for portrayals of sex, despite claims that Pizza Hut were showing “sexualised food” and Maltesers were degrading women to “mindless bimbos.”
The Pizza Hut ad was for its Four N' Twenty pizza and has a female voice-over asking “What do you get when a Pizza Hut pizza hooks up with a golden Four N' Twenty Pie.”
Bacon then curls over the top of the pizza and the voice-over answers itself with “Australia's favourite lovechild.”
However the ad received a complaint for its treatment of sexuality and sex.
The complainant said they were unhappy with "sexualised food, portrayed as erection of bacon resulting in pizza huts "love "child" and that the ad "is offensive and sickening." The complainant asked to "please immediately ban" the ad.
In response response Pizza Hut said the ad was “light-hearted” and “tongue in cheek”.
“While the images and voice-over in the advertisement may be seen as cheeky and provocative, they are appropriate for the relevant audience and are not explicit or insensitive,” a Pizza Hut spokesperson said.
“In relation to the curling of the bacon rasher, we note that when bacon is exposed to the high heat in a pizza oven, the fat renders and the rasher starts to shrink and tighten, resulting in the curling up of the bacon.
“The images of sizzling and curling bacon in the advertisement emphasise the delicious taste of the product.”
The board also dismissed any insinuation of the bacon being phallic.
“The board noted the advertiser’s response that the bacon is shown contracting and rising as a result of the heating process and is intended to demonstrate the product’s ingredients,” the ASB said.
“The board noted the reference to a ‘hook-up’ between Pizza Hut and Four ‘N’ Twenty Pies. The overall theme of the advertisement is to highlight the product as the ‘lovechild’ of Pizza Hut and Four ‘N Twenty and considered that whilst there is some mild innuendo with regards to the language used and the visuals, this innuendo is relatively mild and unlikely to be understood by younger children.”
Similarly, the Maltesers ad had complaints regarding its depiction of sexuality. The ad shows two women in an office with one calling her colleague “naughty” when she sees her eating chocolate. The colleague tells her that they are Maltesers so she eats one, saying she doesn’t feel very naughty at all. The first woman then lifts up her top, making her bra visual to a passing male colleague.
One complaint read: “Absolutely disgusted by the woman flashing her breasts. What does this have remotely to do with chocolate.”
“I find this ridiculously offensive, both from degrading women to mindless bimbos, to the far more serious message it is sending to young girls, that to draw attention to themselves they need to remove clothing and expose flesh, even in the work place.”
Mars Chocolate Australia, owner of the Maltesers brand, rejected claim the ad is inappropriate.
“The general premise for the campaign is that Maltesers are the lighter way to enjoy chocolate,” Mars said.
“The broader campaign has depicted a range of people, of both genders, acting in a playful, innocent manner as they consume Maltesers. Put simply, it is about enjoying chocolate and enjoying the moment.”
The ASB also rejected the claim.
“The board noted the complainant’s concern that the advertisement suggests woman should behave in this manner to draw attention to themselves in the office but considered that this interpretation is unlikely to be shared by the broader community. The most likely interpretation is the woman wants to do something naughty so she flashes the next person who walks past her office and he just happens to be male,” The ASB said.
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