Dancing dad taken to the Advertising Standards Authority

If there’s one common criticism of TV ads it’s that they can tend towards playing things safe. I’m proud of our marketing guys for not going that route and shaking things up a little. What’s the subtle subtext in all those hair, skin and makeup ads?  Women, it’s your job to make yourself look good. So we went the opposite route and for once it’s a man who is doing something ridiculous to look good for his wife.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPQ2SmVF8uQ

No it’s not high art or going to change the world, but at least we’re challenging stereotypes. Unfortunately, no good deed goes unpunished and we’ve had our first viewer complaint. The ad aired during a daytime news bulletin and this is what was submitted to the Advertising Standards Authority:

Advertising Showmax using a semi-nude male dressed in bunny ears and a pink boa gyrating sexually in front of his wife? and witnessed by a young boy. The advertisement appears during day programming and is unsuitable for the time slots when it appears. As grandparents it’s totally unacceptable when our grandchildren are watching TV during the afternoons. If it’s supposed to be amusing it is anything but that.

Semi-nude? I wouldn’t really miss seeing muscled Olympic divers in their budgie smugglers (thank you Australia for that epic addition to the lexicon) if we banned topless men from daytime TV. But that’s probably more about jealousy on my part.

Getting to the heart of the complaint, is our ad suitable for children? In my head they’re just seeing a goofy dad with his dad bod and awful dance moves. An adult may read something else into it, but if their kids are doing the same then they’re also getting the innuendo in countless other ads, music videos, soapies and sitcoms.

I think this also needs a sense of perspective. The ad aired during the news. We know how many awful images and themes there are in the news on a depressingly regular basis. War, suicide bombers, rape, murder. If we deem the Showmax dad ad to be unsuitable, then surely we need a wholesale rethink on what else makes it on to daytime TV.

The irony is if one were watching Showmax there wouldn’t be any ads and you could activate the kids profile and know 100% that nobody is going to stumble across anything they shouldn’t.

I don’t know how the ASA will rule on this but I’m hoping sense will prevail. If Vodacom had a guy in Daisy Dukes doing the Single Ladies thing, I think Showmax dad deserves a chance.