Tennis Australia needs to raise the bar on its ads

FROM time to time I’ll see an ad so bad it’s hard to contemplate how a chain of creatives and company bosses signed off on it.

I spotted one such advertising offender while flicking through a magazine as I watched an Australian Open women’s match a couple of weeks ago.

It was for Tennis Australia’s very own Hot Shots program, and, while it would usually be safe to assume an ad for tennis lessons would be as innocuous as they come, Tennis Australia had clearly decided cute kids holding racquets wasn’t doing the trick.

Most of the almost halfpage ad is taken up with a photo of an overweight young woman in athletic gear attempting the high jump, the bar set at what looks to be an Olympic standard as she struggles to lift off the ground.

The look of mild terror on her face complements the slo- gan below: “Or choose a sport your kids can play forever. Tennis.”

Originally I was miffed. But, upon contemplation, I find it hard to interpret this halfbaked attempt at humour as anything other than flat out body shaming. It’s the advertising equivalent of the mean kid in the playground pointing and laughing at the big girl who’s just trying her best.

It’s the advertising — and extremely public — equal of the condescending parent pointing out a child’s shortcomings. And why promote your own sport at the expense of another?

Having competed in club athletics for the best part of a decade I can tell you that it’s a sport that attracts all kinds of people, of all ages and shapes and sizes.

Most are not high jump champions and all should be commended for doing something active.

Sport is meant to be fun; it’s meant to make people happy.

And so to Tennis Australia I say, don’t drag your sport down with negativity. Don’t slag off another sport to make your own look better. And most of all, don’t make people feel bad about their bodies.