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THE UK’S ADVERTISING standards watchdog has rejected a complaint against Club Orange’s controversial ‘get your hands on our bits’ advertisements, dismissing a complaint that the advert was “offensive and irresponsible, because it was sexist”.
The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) rejected the complaint that the advert – which was screened in cinemas in Northern Ireland – was inappropriate to be aired before a movie rated 15.
The tongue-in-cheek ads see a series of women wearing tight, revealing clothing, teasing men that they cannot wait “to get your hands on our bits” – a double-entendre referring to the small orange pieces typically found in the soft drink.
The ruling follows a similar complaint being upheld by the ASA’s Irish equivalent, which said an outdoor version of the ad was intended “merely to attract attention, as there was no tangible link between a pair of women’s breasts and the brand Club Orange”.
A cinema-goer had complained that the TV advert – shown before a cinema screening of the 15-rated Prometheus – was “sexist, objectified women and reinforced chauvinistic stereotypes to impressionable young people of how women should portray themselves”.
The ASA accepted the explanation of Club’s makers Britvic Ireland, however, who said the adverts were designed to target the product’s core audience of men aged 18 to 30.
(YouTube credit: cluborange)
Britvic conceded that while the ad might not have been to everyone’s taste, it had been carefully targeted and they therefore did not believe it was “either socially irresponsible or likely to cause widespread harm or offence”.
The UK’s Cinema Advertising Association (CAA) had also given the advert a 15 certificate, clearing it to be shown to cinema-goers ahead of films for that audience – because while “a small number of viewers might have found the ad offensive even with the age restrictions in place”, it did not believe this would “amount to serious or widespread offence”.
The ASA concluded that while the advert could be interpreted as objectifying women, “we considered that the average viewer would recognise the ad as an over-the-top satirical spoof and that therefore it was not likely to cause serious or widespread offence to audiences aged 15 or over”.
The watchdog upheld another complaint about the ad, however, from a viewer who had seen the advert aired before a screening of The Dark Night Rises – which itself only carried a 12A certificate.
Although the CAA had given the ad a 15 certificate, the British Board of Film Classification had rated it 12A – an overlap which the CAA said had resulted in a technical error where the advert was shown to an inappropriate audience.
The association said it had taken the necessary steps to stop the error from recurring. Britvic Ireland told the ASA it had no plans to run the ads again in future anyway.
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Hang on on second!
So the person that complained thought that the club orange advert was unsuitable for 15 and under?,
BUT that people having their head smashed in, acid melting a guys face, a alien ripping out of another aliens body etc in the movie Prometheus was ok for 15 years and under?
….its going to be awhile before i stop laughing on this one…
personally i would have complained about the plot holes in the movie Prometheus, just poor poor writing :(
such a shame
aside from promethus. Kids know the difference between a film being fiction and an Add which is supposed to be selling a product. Kids know tv and how it works. They are brought up on it. I think it is too graphic for kids.
Barry, what plot holes? I thought it was pretty good. I know this is probably not the platform to discuss it, but I’d like to know what I missed in it. Btw, I’m intentionally ignoring chris’s comment.
Anthony O Rourke, I’ll bite,
Ok perhaps the plot holes bit is not accurate but the poor writing most certainly is,
- Here we have a bunch of scientists that assume these aliens created man….no actual evidence to suggest this
- The second they get into the alien complex they take off their helmets and breath alien air
- They don’t follow basic….and I mean basic quarantine procedures at any stage during the movie
I think this sums it up nicely
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLbcZggwVCw
“Kids know tv and how it works.”
Are you serious?
Can’t watch the video now, but definitely later. Yes I agree with the writing and things they did wrong. But I didn’t notice any obvious plot holes that couldn’t be explained. I thought it was a good solid movie, nothing great but a very interesting watch. I like the fact this conversation shows what a farce has been made of the actual story above…. And Christophers comment.
Common sense prevails!
“Like!”
Yey!!
Anyone else feeling an urge for a packet of Hunky Dorys and a Club Orange?
I though the ads were funny.
They are but some folks love to be offended
love those bits!
advertising works. great ad for the company.
It offends me when people get offended.
Maybe I’m more relaxed or perhaps I don’t offend easily but I don’t see these ads are either sexist or objectify women. We have boobs, bums,curves, men and women find that attractive. So they use it for advertising, how bad. Get over it, it’s a bit of fun. I’m sure the girls in question were well paid and had great fun at the photo shoot.
I hear the next AD they are doing is men in swimwear and holdiing 2 oranges, squeezing them as if it is there bits. Juicy…. keep the women happy & men :)
Hate the stuff but love the ad
get your bits out for the lads love
“A cinema-goer had complained that the TV advert . . ”
Who ARE these complainers? I have an image of some woman who looks like Dunphy on a windy day with a hangover. Get a life. Uptight, capricious, whingers bug the sh1t out of me.
Buzzkillers.
Some people have too much time on their hands…
which kids are they most offending? the ones who think kissing is yucky or the ones who giggle cos their friend is now wearing a bra? there are far more adult themes in the music of one direction but we don’t question that. we were all kids once and boobs were hilarious.
21 responses here are from men. 2 from women. Most of the men approve. The man who sat beside the kids in the cinema was embarrassed. Why? because he got a chance to see the ad from another person’s perspective. From your perspective these ad’s are just a bit of fun. One day guys, they will be your daughters up there on the big screen. Or she will be sitting beside you ready to enjoy a family movie. Then you won’t see the funny side of the ad. You will understand how heartbreaking it feels, as a parent, to have no control over your children feeling that this is the image that they have to aspire to. Even children’s movies now use the word sex in it. We cannot get away from it. Walt Disney is my hero. He had this wonderful idea that children should have a childhood. Imagine that?
How come there wasnt same complaints bout the diet coke ad.?
“One day guys, they will be your daughters up there on the big screen”.
And my daughter will be well compensated for her performance. More power to her.
What amazed me was the blatant reference to tits. I actually found it hilarious because I do see the funny side of it but I was in the cinema next to two kids and I found it a bit uncomfortable to be honest. its just too graphic for kids.
Are you the complainer?
For f***k sake!!! It’s a ad!!!! Woman who complain about this are just jealous cows, and men well your gay #getoverit
I bet somebody from club orange made the complaint.. Genious!! Look at all the free advertising they are getting!
have your say