Advertising Executives Survey

One of the strategic goals of Collective Shout is to improve advertising standards with regards to sexual objectification of girls and women. We would be most appreciative if you could answer the following questions on advertising regulation. Your answers are strictly anonymous. Your anonymous responses will be used for research and educational purposes. Thank you for your support.

St Andrew’s Cathedral School, a co-ed school with over 1000 students, is fighting an allegedly illegal brothel that is operating a mere 60 meters from the entrance of the school premises. The Star Massage parlour in Sussex Street offers a range of erotic services, but it is the services involving girls who imitate schoolgirls that are causing significant uproar. 

Soft drink brand Sparkling OH have attracted complaints for their ads featuring pieces of fruit arranged to resemble women’s breasts, complete with erect nipples. The image is accompanied by text referencing the deliberately suggestive nature of the image, “not as guilty as it looks”. 

Content Warning: Some content including in this post may be distressing, but it is content the ASB is promoting to your children.

If an adult gave your child a Hustler magazine, what would you do? Perhaps contacting the police might be an appropriate response.

But what if the adult was the Advertising Standards Board, and the pornographic magazine was the address for a hardcore porn website, complete with prostitution services featuring young women engaging in live sex shows, including being penetrated with objects?

Several weeks ago, I made a complaint to the Advertising Standards Board about an ad on the side of a bus featuring the website for a hardcore porn site. After waiting a few weeks for their response, during which time the ad remained in place, the ASB advised me they had already dismissed complaints for this particular advertisement. They found the image was not in breach of the code. I immediately wrote back and asked if they could re-open the discussion given the content of my complaint had not mentioned the image, but the promotion of a porn site.

Last week Collective Shout had the privilege of attending the first inaugural Australian Summit Against Sexual Exploitation (ASASE).

In attendance were politicians, NGOs, activists, survivors of sexual exploitation and other community leaders.

There’s an old saying that sex sells. While some bad ads do objectify women to sell beer or web domain registration services, the following commercials aren’t actually selling sex. Instead, they seem to be testing a new theory: Sexism sells.

The makers of these ads are banking on two flawed assumptions: First, they believe that all of their customers are men. Second, they believe that all men either disrespect or actively resent women.

Writing for ABC Religion and Ethics, Melinda Tankard Reist has called out the lack of action from the Australian government on sexist advertising. 

What is the point of government-funded programs in schools to teach boys how to respect girls, while the government remains complacent in a broader culture that is wallpapered with images that teach them disrespect?

We're pleased to report that after years of campaigning against Wicked Campers for their sexist and anti-women slogans and imagery, Tasmania's Legislative Council has voted to deregister offending vehicles. 

Paris has taken the progressive step to ban sexist and discriminatory outdoor advertising in a bid to combat harmful gender stereotypes and men’s violence against women.