Big W ad showing young girl sticking up middle finger 'breached standards'
Australia's advertising regulator has ruled against a Big W commercial showing a brief pixelated photo of a young girl sticking up her finger at the camera.
The offending image, part of an ad depicting a mother coping with rowdy children during school holidays, was found to have breached Ad Standards' code of ethics.
It triggered complaints when a child lying on a lounge stuck up the middle finger to the camera, with the industry regulator finding it was "inappropriate nonverbal language by a child".
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This offending Big W image was found to have broken the industry code of ethics by Ad Standards Australia. Supplied
The advertisement appeared on free-to-air, streaming and subscription television and also YouTube.
Big W, part of Woolworths Group, defended the ad, saying it set out to be "humorous and cheeky".
"The gesture shown is fleeting, is not done in an aggressive manner or in a way that undermines the parent's authority, and is not obscene," the company said in its submission to Ad Standards.
It added that the regulator's code says "advertising which sufficiently beeps or censors language so that it cannot be understood will not be seen to be strong or obscene language".
Five previous cases of adverts depicting the middle finger had been dismissed by Ad Standards, the retailer pointed out.
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Big W confirmed that the advertisement has already been pulled from all channels. Supplied
It also claimed the gesture is regularly used as "part of Australian culture, and that when used in a non-aggressive way it is not strong or obscene".
But Ad Standards found the Big W ad breached regulations because there was "higher sensitivity in the community" over children displaying inappropriate language.
It also recognised the commercial "sympathised" with parents who had to cope with boisterous behaviour by children.
But the affronting scene "left little to the imagination of any viewer" and most of the public would regard the sign "inappropriate for children to use, even if done in a playful setting".
Following the ruling, Big W said the advertisement had already been discontinued or hidden across all channels.
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