Coles’ Stikeez collectables labelled ‘gambling for children’ in Ad Standards complaint

A complaint lodged to industry watchdog, Ad Standards, has compared Coles’ collectable rubber vegetables, ‘Stikeez’, to gambling for children with the “intent of using the children as psychological pressure on parents to buy products they don’t need”.

The complaint was sparked by an ad marketing the rare versions of the collectables which appeared on YouTube, that the Ad Standards panel deemed to be appealing to children based on the voiceover provided by a child and the animated visuals of the toys.

The concerns in the complaint included that the Stikeez were not a product within their own right and that the price of the toys was not disclosed, which breaches the terms of the children’s code.