“Chow down on my OzeNuts”: Australia Day TV ad is banned for being too offensive
A TV ad filmed for Australia Day to promote Dick Smith’s Australia-made food products has been banned for being too offensive.
The ad, written by comedian and producer Dan Illic, includes a number of “Dick” innuendos and parodies asylum seekers.
It was given a PG-rating by the Advertising Council, meaning that it could not be run in the 6pm timeslot, despite the food producer booking $100,000 worth of ad space.
The ad shows the owner of the company, Dick Smith, asking customers to “chow down on my OzeNuts” and “shake my Aussie sauce”. As the spot goes on an elderly lady comes in with the line, “There’s only one Dick I’ll be eating on Australia Day”.
Speaking to Australia-based magazine, AdNews, Smith said that he would not censor the ad to get a G-rating, which would allow it to be shown at the desired time. He said: “I'm not prepared to censor it. There is nothing wrong with the ad, it's harmless fun in the spirit of larrikinism that we used to have in the past before we became politically correct. I never thought it would be rejected.
"Yes it has a few dick jokes and also shows us handing food to asylum seekers, but one of the reasons why they [asylum seekers] come here is that we have high standards of living and good food. It's a fun ad and I want it to run without being censored."