ASA - Advertising Standards Authority

April 2022

Complaint 21/330 Appeal 21/014 Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Unite Against COVID-19, Print, Not Upheld
Complaint 21/473 Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Unite Against COVID-19, Brochure, No Grounds to Proceed
Complaint 21/532 Appeal 22/002 Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Unite Against COVID-19, YouTube, Appeal Declined, No Grounds to Proceed
Complaint 21/546 Appeal 22/003 Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Unite Against COVID-19, Brochure, Appeal Declined, No Grounds to Proceed
Complaint 21/547 Appeal 22/004 Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Unite Against COVID-19, YouTube, Appeal Declined, No Grounds to Proceed
Complaint 21/548 Appeal 22/005 Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Unite Against COVID-19, Advertiser Website, Appeal Declined, No Grounds to Proceed
Complaint 21/549 Appeal 22/004 Ministry of Health, Advertiser Website, Appeal Declined, No Grounds to Proceed
Complaint 22/027 Powers Realty Group, Digital Marketing, Settled in part, No Grounds to Proceed in part
Complaint 22/039 Waka Kotahi/NZ Transport Agency, Road to Zero, Television, Not Upheld in part, Settled in part
Complaint 22/040 Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Unite Against COVID-19, Radio, No Grounds to Proceed
Complaint 22/041 Voices for Freedom, Billboard, Upheld
Complaint 22/042 Voices for Freedom, Billboard, Upheld
Complaint 22/044 Voices for Freedom, Billboard, Not Upheld
Complaint 22/048 Voices for Freedom, Billboard, Upheld in part, Settled in part
Complaint 22/050 NZ Fringe, NZ Fringe Festival Poster for Kate Spencer, Upheld
Complaint 22/051 Lion NZ, Highlanders, Digital Marketing, Settled
Complaint 22/053 Lion NZ Limited, Smirnoff, Television OnDemand, Upheld
Complaint 22/065 Frank Energy, Television, Not Upheld
Complaint 22/070 50 Shades of Green, Billboard, Settled
Complaint 22/072 NZ Automobile Association, NZME, CarExpert Pty Limited, Digital Marketing, No Jurisdiction
Complaint 22/073 Ford Motors NZL, Courtesy Motors Ltd, Ford Ranger Wildtrak X, Digital Marketing, No Grounds to Proceed
Complaint 22/074 Mondelēz International, Cadbury, Facebook, Not Upheld
Complaint 22/078 Waka Kotahi/NZ Transport Agency, Road to Zero – Riding Together, Television, Not Upheld
Complaint 22/079 Leo Molloy, Facebook, Decline to Adjudicate
Complaint 22/081 Restaurant Brands NZ, Pizza Hut, Billboard, Settled
Complaint 22/083 Coca-Cola Oceania, L&P, Out of Home, No Grounds to Proceed
Complaint 22/084 Spark NZ Ltd/OutLine, Beyond Binary Code, YouTube, No Grounds to Proceed
Complaint 22/086 LIFE TV, Television, No Grounds to Proceed
Complaint 22/090 NZME, Newstalk ZB, Television, No Grounds to Proceed
Complaint 22/091 NZ Blood Service, Television, No Grounds to Proceed
Complaint 22/092 TAB, Television, No Grounds to Proceed
Complaint 22/094 NZME, Radio Hauraki NZ, Digital Marketing, Settled
Complaint 22/101 Restaurant Brands NZ, KFC, Television, No Grounds to Proceed
Complaint 22/102 Sony Pictures, Morbius Movie, Television, No Grounds to Proceed
Complaint 22/108 Mitsubishi Motors NZ Limited, Television, No Grounds to Proceed
Complaint 22/110 Hyundai Motors NZ, Television, No Grounds to Proceed
Complaint 22/111 GFA World, Gospel for Asia, Radio, No Grounds to Proceed

Highlanders video series removed

A Highlanders video series with Speights advertising in the backdrop has been removed following complaints to the ASA. The series, titled ‘Pen Pals’, showed three Highlanders players asking each other questions that were written from school students. The players were sitting in front of a backdrop that showed logos of the team’s sponsors, including Speights.

The videos were featured on the Highlanders YouTube, Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Lion NZ, the owners of Speights, said it had outlined the seriousness of the incident to the Highlanders and reiterated the Speights brand must not feature in any content or at any events that could be popular with, or that targeted, minors.

Upon receiving the complaint from the ASA, the videos were removed along with confirmation from Lion and the Highlanders that they would not be used again. Given the voluntary self-regulatory action taken, the Chair ruled the matter as Settled.

Road to Zero campaign ad justified

Eleven complaints were received about Waka Kotahi’s Road to Zero campaign. The 60-second advocacy TV ad showed a father and his two children driving through the countryside. The car pulls up to a toll booth and the father asks, “how much?” The woman operating the booth replies “just the little one today”, looking at the man’s daughter.

Complainants were concerned the advertisement would cause fear, distress, and anxiety for viewers.

Waka Kotahi said the campaign was underpinned by a vision of zero deaths and serious injuries on New Zealand roads, and the hard-hitting campaign was needed to change the public road safety narrative from individual driver behaviour to road safety being everyone’s responsibility.

The Complaints Board said the messaging in the ad was justified due to the nature of the issue, to help reduce the road toll. This part of the complaint was Not Upheld by the Complaints Board.

Due to a media scheduling error, one of the complainants had seen the ad during a G-rated movie. The Chair agreed that the media’s acknowledgement of the error and confirmation that processes had been put in place to ensure it did not happen again, meant the placement aspect of the complaint was Settled.

The following provide further details of decision outcomes

No Grounds to Proceed: This means the Chair of the Complaints Board has reviewed the complaint and has ruled a Code has not been breached, and there are no grounds for the complaint to proceed. This outcome may occur when a complaint is based on an extreme interpretation or is trivial or vexatious, or if there is a precedent decision that relates to the same or similar advertising.

Upheld: This means the Complaints Board agreed with the issues raised by the complainant and the advertiser is asked to amend or remove the advertisement.

Settled: When an advertiser either withdraws an advertisement or makes immediate changes (that the Chair considers satisfactory) to address the issues raised by the complainant the complaint can be settled by the Chair. A settled decision achieves the same outcome as an upheld decision – removal or amendment of the advertisement.

Not Upheld: This means the Complaints Board does not find the advertisement in breach of the Advertising Codes in relation to the complainant’s concerns.

No Jurisdiction: Sometimes a complaint is outside the jurisdiction of the ASA. The ASA deals with complaints about any advertisement that is targeted at NZ audiences. Matters of law or complaints about advertisements from outside of NZ, which are not targeting NZ consumers, are outside the ASA’s jurisdiction.