The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled Tui’s “Dad’s new husband seems nice … Yeah Right” billboard was not offensive enough to breach the law. Numerous people complained that the joke, which appeared just after the marriage equality legislation passed, was homophobic. They also said it called into question the validity of same-sex relationships. P. O’Sullivan said: “I find this extremely derogatory … As a mother of a gay child; we have had to observe the pain this child has gone through…as a result of society’s negative attitude towards them. This advertisement perpetuates this negative attitude.” While noting the offence the billboard caused, the ASA’s Chairman has responded by pointing out Tui is well known for making provocative statements across a wide spectrum of society and about topical issues. “Taking into account the timing and the context of the advertisement, the Chairman said it did not meet the threshold to be said to denigrate people on the grounds of their sexual orientation or meet the threshold to cause serious or widespread offence in the light of generally prevailing community standards, and had met the high standards required of advertisements of alcohol advertisements.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 10th June 2013 - 10:59am