A complaint that a New Zealand AIDS Foundation ad showing a nude man lying on a motorbike was degrading to men has been thrown out. The ad for the NZAF's safe sex promoter LYC shows a man wearing just a helmet, over his groin: A person named only as ‘T. Antric' complained to the Advertising Standards Authority that such an image would not be permitted if it was a female model. They added that it was "more offensive" given it was for a government funded health campaign. The Authority's complaints board points out the campaign was targeted at gay and bisexual men. It says while it was clear that the man was intended to be naked, no genitalia was shown, and while the image was provocative, it was not exploitative or salacious. "The Complaints Board did not consider the advertisement that promoted an important health message to men, to be degrading," it says in its ruling, adding " the use of the man in a provocative pose, was contextually congruent with the Advertiser's target audience of gay and bisexual men".
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 10th January 2015 - 4:48pm