Stax Burger Co’s ‘customer from hell’ skits deemed too sweary for Ad Standards
Sweary "customer" at Stax proves too much for Ad Standards
A series of humorous social media sketches for Adelaide’s Stax Burger Co, featuring a potty-mouthed “customer” railing against “fucken millennial, Gen-Z burger joints,” has been found in breach of Ad Standards for excessive profanity.
The 2020-founded brand, run by Zaynn Bird, regularly posts comedic Instagram and Facebook skits featuring staff and Bird’s parents, but four posts were ruled to have crossed the watchdog’s anti-profanity guidelines.
Across the flagged posts, Stax Burger Co’s skits repeatedly feature a foul-mouthed “customer” character, played by the founder’s father, directing a colourful torrent at Bird and staff, including one with the captioned lines such as “fucken Gen-Z,” “entitled fucks,” and “who the fuck are you?”
In one sketch, another “boomer” character fake-slaps employees while walking through the store, calling them “fucken try hard,” “fucken millennial Gen Z burger joints,” and “fuck off millennial,” before making his own meal and declaring it “fucking beautiful.”
Another post shows the founder training his father in burger-making, with the father interrupting the lesson to say: “Stop fucken mansplaining cunt.”
The Ad Standards Panel found that, in one video, the repeated use of phrases such as “fucken Gen-Z,” “entitled fucks,” and “who the fuck are you?” was gratuitous and not in line with prevailing community standards.
In another instance, the Panel considered that referring to another person as a “cunt” while they were attempting to provide training, even within the broader comedic narrative, was excessive and inappropriate.
In response, the chain, founded by then-18-year-old Zaynn Bird, who initially promoted the business from home via social media and Youtube, said the videos were short-form skits depicting exaggerated, fictional hospitality scenarios created for comedic entertainment, and were not intended to reflect real operations.
The advertiser has not officially responded to the breach decision, but did post an equally sweary skit depicting an Ad Standards visit to the restaurant. The skit ends with a recommendation to “shove your fucking guidelines up your fucking arse”.
The posts remain live on the platform and have also been referred to Instagram and Facebook’s owner Meta.
What a charming way to represent your brand.
Wow, they’ve really pulled those guys into line…