Whisky advertisement found Parking meters back in action not to breach standards
AUCKLAND: A billboard placed across from a popular children’s location which read ‘‘whisky doesn’t care what’s between your legs’’ does not breach advertisement standards, a watchdog says.
In the advertisement, actress Anna Paquin holds a whisky drink in a whisky glass.
To the right of her is the text: ‘‘A man’s drink? Whisky doesn’t care what’s between your legs’’.
There was also a photo of a bottle of Glenlivet and, in smaller font, the text: ‘‘Obey the Rules. Miss the Fun’’.
AlbertEdenPuketapapa ward councillor Cathy Casey made the complaint on the grounds it showed a lack of social responsibility in objectifying and demeaning women, simplifying gender assignation and sending the message to drinkers to disobey the rules.
‘‘The ad shows a lack of social responsibility in objectifying and demeaning women and simplifying gender assignation’’ Ms Casey said in her complaint.
The Advertising Standards Authority said the advertisement ‘‘did not reach the threshold to be offensive or to encourage an illegal or unsafe practice’’ and ‘‘the advertisement was targeted to an adult audience’’.
Pernod Ricard Winemakers, the advertiser, said that the advertisement was not meant to be offensive and simply wanted to challenge stereotypes.
‘‘The campaign objective was to broaden the representation of whisky drinkers to make it more inclusive, and to challenge an outdated stereotype that whisky is a man’s drink,’’ it said.
However, the advertisement was initially removed due to an ‘‘abundance of caution’’ after the complaint was first made. — The
DUNEDIN’S ailing parking meters are getting a boost in battery power.
The machines in the central city are ageing and fewer of them have been able to read credit cards.
Delays in getting machines fixed were due to supplychain problems, Dunedin City Council infrastructure and development general manager Simon Drew told a recent infrastructure services committee meeting.
Sourcing items such as batteries was increasingly difficult, a council spokesman said.
Inclement weather also affected both machine performance and the council’s ability to service electronic equipment.
‘‘We have now received a batch of batteries, so the number of nonoperational parking meters has reduced significantly,’’ the spokesman said yesterday.
The council is to consider options for meter replacement by the end of this year.
Some meters have been accepting only coins and payment can also be made through the PayMyPark app.
The council said last month customers who appealed infringement notices due to the credit card option not being available were advised of the two other payment options, ‘‘but we also consider each explanation on its merits’’.