19 September, 2018
Ad Standards Board Case Number 0099/18
What you need to know
Carlton United Breweries' (CUB) television advertisement for Rusty Yak Ginger Ale offered a cash prize for finding limited ginger bottles hiding in regular six-packs accompanied by the statement "Help stop the spread of the ginger gene".
The Ad Standards Community Panel (Panel) found that this vilified people with red hair which amounted to discrimination on the basis of race under section 2.1 of the Advertising Standards Code of Ethics.
What you need to do
Food and beverages producers need to:
- be mindful of their obligations under the Code of Ethics when creating advertising and promotional material; and
- obtain legal sign off for such materials prior to publishing them to ensure compliance with the Code of Ethics, Australian Consumer Law and other legal requirements.
The Panel finds CUB in breach of ethical obligations
In response to consumer complaints, the Panel considered whether television advertisements for Rusty Yak Ginger Ale products were in breach of Section 2.1 of the Code of Ethics.
Advertising Standards Code of Ethics
Section 2.1 mandates that advertising shall not portray people or depict material in a way which discriminates against or vilifies a person or section of the community on account of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, sexual preference, religion, disability, mental illness or political belief.
CUB's reference to "the ginger gene"
CUB's advertisement referred to the existence of a "ginger gene" in Rusty Yak Ginger Ale products, drawing an analogy to people with red hair. A cash prize was offered to consumers who found ginger bottles "hiding" in regular six packs of Rusty Yak Ginger Ale.
The complaints were primarily concerned with the statement "Help stop the spread of the ginger gene" contained in the advertisement, observing that red or ginger hair is portrayed as an undesirable trait in a manner that was offensive, racist and encouraged bullying of a minority group.
In response to the complaints, CUB submitted that 'red hair' is not an attribute covered by the categories listed in Section 2.1 of the Code of Ethics, and that the association of red-heads with their ginger ale product was done in a light-hearted, affectionate and humorous way.
The Panel's determination
The Panel considered the Practice Note for Section 2.1 of the Code of Ethics which defines 'race' broadly as including colour, descent or ancestry, ethnicity and nationality amongst other terms. The Panel concluded that DNA can be associated with ancestry and descent. As such, a reference to people with red hair, which is a genetic trait, falls within the definition of race under Section 2.1.
The majority of the Panel determined that the accompanying call for help to "stop the spread of the ginger gene" surpassed light-hearted humour and asserted that an identifiable group of the population was considered unpopular, with red hair being an undesirable trait.
The Panel concluded that the inclusion of the "stop the spread of the ginger gene" statement in the advertisement depicted material in a way that discriminated against or vilified a section of the community on account of race and therefore breached Section 2.1.
For further information, please contact:
Lisa Ritson, Partner, Ashurst
Lisa.ritson@ashurst.com
