37
A determination of particular note was the sexualised
Christmas-themed poster, featuring a lingerie-
clad woman, standing over a gagged and bound Santa, which was placed in shop fronts in the lead up
to Christmas. The fact that Honey Birdette felt confident to use Santa Claus in a sexualised way reflects
the distain that some advertisers have for ASB and the AANA code of Ethics and the AANA Code for
Advertising & Marketing to Children. The Santa Claus complaint was upheld, but this occurred weeks
after the Christmas campaign had ended. One flaw in the current system is that it typically takes weeks
to reach a decision, yet even once a decision has been made, the advertiser can appeal, delaying the
process even more – all while the advertisement is allowed to remain on display. The current practices
of the Advertising Standards Board do not reflect the short-run time
frame of most advertising
campaigns.
Another complaint shows that the ASB has no power to enforce undertakings made by advertisers. In
a letter dated 13 October 2015, to an ACL staff member, the ASB notes
that Honey Birdette was
voluntary removing the display that was the subject of the complaint and Honey Birdette had
committed to not display the advertisement again in the future. The letter stated that as a result of
these undertakings, the ASB did not feel the need to make a determination. Despite those
undertakings, Honey Birdette shopfronts continued to display sexual imagery for some time.
Low public awareness of where to direct complaints
Research indicates a low level of public awareness with regards to where one should direct complaints
about advertising. A study published in 2011, by Sandra Carol Jones and Katherine Eagleton, at the
Centre for Health Initiatives, University of Wollongong, found that of a total of 882 responses to the
question ‘Who can you complain to about an advertisement you object to?’ only 49 (5.6%) participants
in the study correctly identified the ‘Advertising Standards Board’ with an additional 75 (8.5%)
providing an answer that indicated they could potentially locate the correct
organisation if they
wished to, such as ‘Advertising Standards Australia’ or ‘Advertising Complaints Board’. The combined
total of 14.1% indicates that the Australian public are largely unaware
of where to direct their
complaints about advertising.
This research is supported by the findings of the December 2015 Bureau research which revealed that
when asked to identify organisations that they could direct their complaint to, unprompted, 8% said
they would contact the TV/radio station where they saw/heard the advertisement, just 2% stated they
would contact ‘Ad Standards’, 2% the ‘Ad Standards Board’ and 1% the ‘Advertising Standards
Bureau’.
132
132
Ibid.
Some examples of Honey Birdette posters.