From a public health message flipping the bird at its viewers to an Aussie rugby star in his undies - Kiwis complained about a lot of ads in 2022.
Now, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has revealed what ads Kiwis complained about the most last year.
In 2022, the ASA dealt with 843 complaints from about 345 advertisements - with advocacy ads proving to be the least popular. These comprised 29% of complaints.
The reasoning for these complaints ranged from medical disinformation to the objectification of women. However, not everything was upheld by the authority.
Here’s a list of the most complained-about commercial and non-commercial ads from last year.
Non-commercial
The most complained-about ad of the year came from Te Whatu Ora, which was a part of their Covid-19 vaccination campaign.
It featured the slogan - “Protect them for life. Immunise” - which is what the majority of complaints were made about.
It received 29 complaints, with complainants arguing the messaging was misleading as it implied if children were vaccinated, they would be protected from it for life - this was not true.
The authority agreed and upheld the complaints.
The second most complained about ad from 2022 came from Brian Tamaki’s Voices for Freedom, who published pamphlets discouraging Kiwis from wearing masks.
It drew in 20 complaints, which the authority upheld.
“The Board ruled the ad was not socially responsible and was likely to mislead consumers in the context of a global pandemic,” the ASA said.
Eighteen people complained about Te Whatu Ora’s “Stick it to Hep C” campaign - which encouraged people to get tested for Hepatitis C.
The ad showed various people pulling their middle finger - which is pricked during a test for the virus.
The tongue-in-cheek ad offended some viewers, who complained to the ASA.
Initially upheld, the authority eventually dropped this stance after an appeal.
“The Advertiser appealed the decision and provided research to show its target audience was not likely to be offended.”
Commercial
While ads selling products received far leads complaints than their public messaging counterparts - people were still unhappy with what they were seeing.
Eight people complained about an ad for Tradie Workwear, which featured Australian Rugby star Nick “Honeybadger” Cummins.
The ad showed Cummins using a leafblower while in his underwear while freestyle skier Danielle Scott danced.
The complainants said the ad objectified women and was inappropriate for children.
But the Chair ruled in favour of Tradie Workwear, saying: “Scenes of a woman dancing and a man using a leaf blower while dressed in their underwear did not reach the threshold to cause serious or widespread offence.”
Universal Pictures’ horror movie The Black Phone caught the ire of seven people, who complained about its teaser's placement on television.
The complaint was upheld with the board saying: “The content and theme of the R16 rated film required a higher level of protection for viewers.”
Meridian Energy’s mother nature ads received six complaints - with people raising issues around safety and bullying.
It showed ‘Mother Nature’ pushing a man who littered into a fountain.
However, the complaints board said the “fantastical, hyperbolic nature of the advertisement provided sufficient context to prevent scenarios in the advertisement being viewed as unsafe or socially irresponsible by most consumers.”
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