SHEEN AD STAR: IT’S A JOKE
‘THE BAN IS TRULY DEGRADING’
A MODEL who co-stars with Charlie Sheen in Ultra Tune’s TV ad – now banned after complaints – says she feels degraded by it being blocked.
Laura Lydall (above), an original “Rubber Girl” in the controversial Ultra Tune TV ad series, made a comeback for the latest one with Hollywood bad boy Sheen.
Despite airing prominently on Foxtel since January, including during the Australian Open tennis, it was banned this week when Ad Standards upheld complaints, the Bulletin revealed on Saturday.
The complaints, which were originally dismissed but were upheld on appeal, included that it was degrading and portrayed women as helpless, lacking intelligence and needing rescuing by men.
Ms Lydall, who used to live on the Gold Coast and visits frequently, said the ban was “nonsense”: “What they are doing is underestimating our intelligence, which is truly degrading.
“Women don’t need saving in real life, that’s why we use it as a joke in our commercials. We are just having fun.”
The ad, for which Sheen was paid $500,000, shows him on a luxury yacht fishing when he rescues Lydall and three other bikini models who drive a car into the water.
As he welcomes them aboard, Sheen notes he’s fresh out of towels before smirking to the camera: “Winning.”
Ultra Tune boss Sean Buckley is seeking legal advice on the ban, claiming he had consulted Ad Standards on the content prior to filming.
IT has taken four months of the Ultra Tune Charlie Sheen ad being run prominently on our television screens before an abrupt ban has kicked in.
Complaints to Ad Standards about the content – that it degraded women by making them seem helpless, lacking intelligence and needing rescued by men – were originally dismissed.
But – as the Bulletin revealed on Saturday – on appeal the Ad Standards Community Panel has upheld complaints and unless the ad is modified, which seems remote, they will no longer air.
Ultra Tune’s Gold Coast-based boss Sean Buckley is livid at the ban of the latest ad in the Unexpected Situations series and at first blush his reaction does not seem unjustified. By Mr Buckley’s account he consulted Ad Standards on the content before going ahead with the filming of the commercial in Melbourne, which was rumoured to have cost upwards of $500,000 largely due to Sheen’s fee.
To now turn around and uphold complaints about the ad, when in the Bulletin’s view previous Ultra Tune ads have been far worse, smacks of a hypocritical decision.
The latest ad even features an eye-rolling Parnia Porsche interacting with Sheen after he rescues the girls, because he thinks she wants his phone for a selfie when actually she wants to report their car ending up in the drink.
In today’s Bulletin, ad co-star Laura Lydall says the ban is the “degrading” part for her, feeling it insults her intelligence that people might take any of the content as being based on reality. She has a strong point.
The ad is a parody, clearly hammed up for the purposes of memorably highlighting what’s available if you having car trouble.
What are we missing here?