The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint that a social media ad was misleading as it appeared to contain actual quotes from a party leader during the election campaign.
The sponsored post for the Make New Zealand Great Again Party on Facebook said: “New Zealand Labour Party will literally kill child poverty! But remember they are all about ‘the children’, nothing about parental responsibility!”
The post was accompanied by a picture of the Labour Party leader Jacinda Ardern with the statement in quotation marks: “My Labour Party will end child poverty through abortion. No children. No poverty”.
A complainant said the statement was misleading as it created the impression it was a quote from Ms Ardern.
The advertiser told the ASA: “To my knowledge, Facebook deleted the post and subsequently deleted the page for ‘hate speech’ violations.”
The Complaints Board said the advertisement was likely to mislead and people could think that the statement was a quote from Jacinda Ardern.
The Make New Zealand Great Again Party did not contest the September election nor is registered with the Electoral Commission.
Advertisement not discriminatory against fathers
A television advertisement for Spark featured a young boy in various situations without his father present around Father’s Day. In one scene the boy is carrying breakfast to his mother with a card that said “Happy Father’s Day Mum” on the front. The advertisement concluded with the on-screen text which said “little can be huge” and the Spark logo.
Four complainants were concerned about the advertisement discriminating against fathers, perpetuating derogatory stereotypes about absent fathers and encouraging parental alienation. One complainant was also concerned the advertisement was misleading and would encourage bullying of children without fathers.
The advertiser said the advertisement depicted one of the many different family configurations that exist in society.
The ASA said the advertisement depicted a loving relationship between a mother and son, which included positive representations of other fathers. It ruled the commercial made no suggestion of why the young boy’s father was not present on Father’s Day and did not present a derogatory stereotype of a ‘deadbeat’ father.
Skiers enjoying après-ski drink did not breach code
A billboard for Lion (NZ) Ltd – Corona Extra, showed a snow-covered mountain range at sunset, with skiers and snowboarders drinking beer. The tagline at the bottom of the billboard states “From where you’d rather be.”
A complainant was concerned the advertisement linked drinking alcohol with skiing and snowboarding, therefore implying that alcohol consumption was linked to a more attractive lifestyle and necessary for relaxation. The advertiser clarified that there was a clear separation of sporting pursuits and the consumption of alcohol.
The ASA concluded the advertisement did not promote alcohol consumption as a better or more attractive lifestyle because of the moderate alcohol consumption shown, the separation of sporting equipment from those drinking and the general ambience portrayed with drinkers and non-drinkers socialising. Crucially, the characters drinking beer had completed their sporting activities for the day, therefore negating any suggestion that sporting prowess could be enhanced with alcohol.