Burgerfuel, truck firm ads banned

Advertisements for Burgerfuel and a specialist trucking firm have both been deemed as objectifying women by the Advertising Standard Authority.

Burgerfuel and Wills Contracting breached community standards with adverts that used women’s bodies to sell something.

The Wills Contracting advert, which was broadcast online at Threenow, showed two men discussing one wife’s breasts in relation to the commercial lifting services offered by the Taranakibased company.

Complainants said the advertisement was degrading and belittling to woman, and were offended by the stereotype of a nagging wife.

The complaints board unanimously voted that the advertisement had no sense of social responsibility. A majority of the board said the advertisement was likely to cause widespread offence and was not saved by humour.

The Burgerfuel advertisement showed a caricature printed on serviette tins of two pin-up style women wearing only knee-high fishnet tights, with one holding a cleaver and one holding a knife.

It included the Burgerfuel branding and logo and said, ‘‘Death before bad burgers’’.

Complainants said the advertisement was offensive, not appropriate for a family restaurant, had no relationship to the product, and promoted the inappropriate sexualisation of women.

The board ruled the advert to be offensive, sexually explicit, and likely to cause offence.

Burgerfuel said the image was artwork, did not use sexual appeal to sell a product and was not degrading to women.

It said the nudity in the image was consistent with a child’s doll, but was not targeting children and was unlikely to cause serious offence to anyone.