AUSTRALIA

Unofficial ad for Northern Territory ruled ‘obscene’

An unofficial slogan for Australia’s Northern Territory has been declared “obscene” by a standards watchdog, two months after it swept the internet. The advert used an acronym for “See You in the Northern Territory” to effectively spell a profanity. Many believed it was an official tourism campaign after it went viral in November, but the territory’s tourism authority said it was not involved. The Advertising Standards Board ruled the language was not appropriate. The creators of the ad, NTOfficial.com, describe themselves as a brand that aims to “represent the true spirit of the Northern Territory”. The campaign won fans for capitalising on perceptions of the territory as having an irreverent sense of humour, but it also attracted criticism. Various complaints described the slogan as “crass”, “highly offensive” and “derogatory”, the industry watchdog said. Some also expressed concerns the ad promoted misogyny and projected a negative image of Australia to overseas tourists. The brand, which sold the slogan on a range of merchandise, had argued the board would set a “dangerous precedent” if it was found to breach advertising codes. It said provocative acronyms were used by well-known brands such as French Connection UK. But the Advertising Standards Board, which has no legal powers, said the language was “obscene and not appropriate in advertising in any form”. The Northern Territory’s official tourism department said although it did not condone the language, the slogan which was also sold on T-shirts - had resonated widely. “We do agree with the Advertising Standards Board that their key slogan is obscene,” tourism executive Valerie Smith said. “I think it did perhaps tap into a bit of the larrikinism [mischievous] sense of humour. It did get a lot of people talking about the Territory.” Some local observers agreed, with Mashable writing: “Turns out swearing can get you a pretty long way.” Pop culture website Pedestrian mused: “Don’t be surprised if a couple of those tops are smuggled away in the NT tourism department’s headquarters.”