GIRLS TO RESCUE IN BOLD NEW ADS
A NEW TV ad with Pamela Anderson for Ultra Tune’s controversial ‘Unexpected Situations’ series screens from today – and Gold Coast owner Sean Buckley says his only concern is ex-AFL star Warwick Capper being slapped by an on-screen girlfriend.
The roadside assist and car repair giant’s new commercial – number eight in a series which has featured Jean Claude Van Damme, Mike Tyson and Charlie Sheen – is the first to have women saving men in trouble.
In a preview, seen by the Bulletin, Capper is driving a buggy on the sand at Gold Coast’s Main Beach when he is distracted by Anderson in a figure-hugging wetsuit prompting “girlfriend” – played by model Giuliana Migliorini – to slap him.
They end up driving into the surf, get sucked out to sea and require rescuing by Anderson and Ultra Tune’s infamous Rubber Girl bikini models.
Mr Buckley said he thinks the 30 and 45 second versions to screen during the Australian Open tennis on Channel 9 will hit the mark for Ultra Tune customers.
“I think it will resonate with the audience. We have spun the whole ad concept around so the girls are saving the man,” he said.
“I think Capper is brilliant – he has a lot of charisma. Pamela is amazing and looks really good, she’s like a spring chicken.”
Typically the ads attract an avalanche of Ad Standards complaints for being sexist and depicting helpless women needing saving by men.
Mr Buckley said his only concern this time is Migliorini slapping Capper.
“But that is in jest. Otherwise I can’t see anything else that could be a problem,” he said.
“The girls are wearing bathing suits and running down the beach and they are sexy – but that is what you wear at the beach,” he said.
The ad was shot on Main Beach over two days late last year by Digital 500, costing a rumoured $700,000 with former Baywatch star and Playboy cover favourite Anderson, 52, receiving a sixfigure fee.
Ultra Tune, which has more than 300 franchises throughout Australia, has a contract with Anderson to show the ad for 12 months.