Seriously

The Mitre 10 commercial above is, for most people, cute, funny, maybe a bit cheeky, but clearly all in good fun. One person, however, didn’t agree and filed a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority calling the commercial “racist towards Australians”.

The relevant section is where the boy wearing an Australian rugby jersey refuses to help his mates with a Saturday project, declaring “Mate, you’re dreaming!” The camera cuts to the other two boys, one says “Aussies.” To which the other responds, “No surprises there.”

I have no idea if the complainant was serious or just taking the mickey, but if real, the complaint was absurd. The Authority agreed. In their decision (09/006, available here), they said the commercial “incorporated a well established satirical theme which played on the spirit of competition between Australia and New Zealand.” That “satirical theme” can be seen throughout popular culture in both countries.

As a result, the Authority ruled that the ad “did not reach the threshold to cause serious or widespread offence in the light of generally prevailing community standards, and there was no apparent breach of the Advertising Codes.” And there clearly wasn’t. But the ad was funny.