ASA - Advertising Standards Authority

The following decisions have been published on the ASA website:

16/383 Natural Sense, Digital Marketing, Settled
16/399 Access Consciousness, Digital Marketing, Settled
17/080 Greenpeace NZ, Television, Not Upheld
17/098 Isbell Medical Practice, Digital Marketing, Settled
17/110 Forktruck Specialists, Radio, Not Upheld
17/112 ANZ Ltd, Television, Not Upheld
17/119 A J Hackett Bungy NZ, Out of Home, Settled
17/123 Pharmabroker Sales Ltd, Radio, Not Upheld
17/131 Orion Health, Out of Home, Settled
17/135 Animates, Digital Marketing, No Grounds
17/140 NZ Transport Agency, Television, No Grounds
17/142 Tourism NZ, Digital Marketing, No Grounds
17/145 Credit Simple, Television, No Grounds
17/148 Westpac Bank, Digital Marketing, No Grounds
17/149 Greater Wellington Regional Council, Out of Home, No Grounds

Ad OK On Water Safety Issues

ANZ Ltd’s television advertisement showed two children approach a tall wooden fence. The boy clambers onto the girl’s shoulders and peers over to next door, where a man is clearing leaves from his swimming pool. The girl calls out “Hey mister, what’s your pool doing later?” The man looks up and the boy waves. We next see the children in the pool, while a voiceover talks about ANZ’s new home loan rate.

The Complainant was concerned that the advertisement encouraged children to swim in fenced neighbouring pools without asking permission and without supervision. If children drowned doing this, the pool owner would be responsible.

The Advertiser said the advertisement shows an adult neighbour present, cleaning his pool, and that the children have ‘clearly asked him for permission to use the pool before entering’.

The Complaints Board agreed the advertisement showed the children asking permission to swim in the pool and the implication was that this was granted. Although no adult was seen when the children were swimming in the pool, there was no evidence that they were unsupervised. In accordance with the majority the Complaints Board found the advertisement was not in breach of the Code of Ethics. Accordingly, the Complaint was Not Upheld.

Medication Claims Not Overstated

Pharmabroker Sales’ radio advertisement promoted Buccaline, an oral vaccine for immunisation against the bacterial complications of the common cold. The advertisement stated “The following is a public health warning. Winter colds will be severe. Protect your family now from the bacterial complications of colds. Immunise your family today with Buccaline tablets.”

The Complainant was concerned that the statement “What follows is a public health warning” implied it was official advice from the Government. The Complainant also stated the words ‘immunise with Buccaline’ implied that taking Buccaline would result in immunity, “which was impossible”.

The Advertiser said they were not imitating a Government official public health warning and the wording was intended to alert people to coming winter weather when colds were more prevalent and severe. The Advertiser also said, in relation to the complaint that immunising with Buccaline was impossible, that Buccaline was a registered Pharmacist medicine for the prophylaxis of the complications of colds.

A majority of the Complaints Board believed adults would not think the words in the advertisement were an official government health warning. They also agreed it was consistent with the Medsafe Data Sheet to say that Buccaline had an immunising effect. The Complaints Board said the advertisement had not breached the Therapeutic and Health Advertising Code and ruled the complaint was Not Upheld.