Wicked Campers falls foul of the ad watchdog over ‘inappropriate’ slogans
For the fourth time in less than a month Wicked Campers has fallen foul of the Advertising Standards Board (ASB) over slogans painted on the sides of its vans.
The ASB upheld three separate complaints lodged against Wicked Campers relating to the slogans “Shut the f#ck up Donny“, “God I’m Fucking Awesome” and “I was in fuckin’ Nirvana dude. Dave Grohl“, with the ad watchdog ruling the slogans featured language inappropriate for an outdoor medium.
Earlier this month the brand was reprimanded by the watchdog for a slogan reading “Does your asshole ever get jealous of the shit that comes out of your mouth?” and a the slogan reading “fat girls are harder to kidnap!” while at the end of last month the ASB upheld a complaint relating to the slogan “Get out ya tits and we’ll call it quits“. It has also been censured by the ASB for a Chuck Norris blowjob message, a pot smoking promo, “it’s better to be black than gay“,encouraging killing kangaroos, a menstrual cycle joke and snogging an aboriginal.
The complaints against the three slogans where all identical, reading: “I was offended by the language sign written on the vehicle which contained offensive language that was visible to all members of the public including children.”
So what exactly is the point of the ASB if “Wicked Campers no longer responds to complaints to the ASB, which was noted by the board during the ruling.”?
I’m not being smart, I seriously mean it, what next? Seems to me these guys use the hand-wringing of the PC-set to further their business. Does the ASB have any teeth at all on the matter?
Wouldn’t these now be allowable under George Brandis’s new laws about being able to say whatever you want, even if you offend someone based on sex, race, sexuality, etc?
Not being smart, either. Interested to know.
@Matt That would be the case if were an individual, not a commercial entity. Especially a brand that cannot offer the chance of a censorship warning before viewing their explicit content. By the time you see it, it’s too late.
The ASB is a voluntary industry-run body.
Wicked are still subject though, to any state regulations enforced by state Transport departments or State Censorship boards.
Good point John, so how are these guys able to register their vehicles? Surely there is some clause somewhere in registering a vehicle it has to meet certain criteria beyond roadworthiness. Perhaps then the people behind this business can be held to account.
Free speech is all good, people are free to hold whatever opinion they want, they just aren’t free of the consequences of that opinion or comment.
That these guys can ignore pretty reasonable criticism means we need a better apparatus to deal with this. Surely the state in which these vehicles are registered can simply refuse to re-register them until they are turned out in acceptable livery.
Interesting – Wicked Campers also operates out of Vancouver, Canada – they are far more cautious about what they put on their vans…as there is no way you would get across the US border with references to drugs etc. plastered on the side of your vehicle.
Pretty disgusting all round really isn’t it. The slogans are not humorous in any way, they’re not clever in any way, and they are deeply offensive with the aim of being shocking. And they continue to drive through our streets and highways.
Hard to believe that voices like the Australian Christian Lobby can incite national debate over a safe-sex bus stop billboard for gay men, and yet this monstrosity of a company is allowed to get away with it.
Ultimately though Daz, the inventory is owned by the advertiser here. Where it is in the best interest of AdShel or JCDecaux to be seen as maintaining the standards expected by the ASB and responding to complaints appropriately, there is no such risk here for Wicked.
As the single and exclusive advertising partner of the inventory owner is one and the same entity, there’s nothing for them to worry about. The advertiser won’t be kicked off, and the owner has no backlash to fear from others wanting to use their space.
Having seen some of these vans around I would argue that the local plod and probably roads authority would have very good grounds to remove these vans from the road purely on RWC non-compliance if nothing else. Many of the vans are in very poor condition.
http://www.fava.org.au/news/20.....ising-law/
The Advertising Standards Bureau has once again ruled against an offensive slogan on Wicked Campers vans, but police have no power to enforce a ban. Where is the Newman government?
There have been over 40 complaints against Wicked Campers slogans since 2008, most of them upheld by the Bureau – but the company continues to thumb its nose at the authorities.
We already know the harmful impact of sexualised advertising on our children.
This situation is further evidence that the Newman government needs to get its skates on and introduce an outdoor advertising regulation bill. Children and others should not be forcibly exposed to harmful unsolicited material.