A Recent Zealand automotive yard known for its comedic promoting was ordered to take down a web-based video after a proper grievance was made in regards to the “sexual innuendo” used.
However it seems it wasn’t the sexual references that the nation’s promoting authority had an issue with.
In Portage Cars’ Facebook and YouTube commercial for a plug-in hybrid Mitsubishi Outlander, social media star Kiedis Haze, who was acting as a automotive salesman, told viewers they might “appear to be a MILF driving it”.
Other comments included “doing the deed under the fireworks at Recent Yr’s” and “plug which matches the inserting motion you’ve been getting”.
A disgruntled Kiwi made a proper grievance to the Promoting Standards Authority and claimed Portage Cars’ videos were “not only insulting but highly sexualized and never appropriate for a general audience by which it’s promoted to”.
Social media star Kiedis Haze acted as a automotive salesman within the controversial ad. Portage Cars
Nonetheless, it was a special a part of the grievance that ultimately saw the video taken down.
“ … it also claims that the advertiser has the ‘Easiest finance on the planet’ but has nothing to backup this claim other,” the complainant wrote to the authority.
Portage Cars responded to the grievance saying the video was “not an commercial” and was “a funny automotive review that generates social media and brand awareness”.
It said the humor was “well-received” in Recent Zealand and “even internationally when our videos go viral” with supportive commenters in Australia and the US.
The commercial claims that Portage Cars’ has the “easiest finance on the planet.”Portage Cars
“Clearly the saying ‘easiest finance on the planet’ was said in jest, saying something is the best on the planet is a standard turn of phrase in Recent Zealand,” the corporate wrote.
It added: “The complainant has taken a light-hearted, satirical automotive review seriously without understating the Recent Zealand humorousness.”
The Promoting Standards Authority ruled that the video had not caused serious or widespread offense and despite being risqué was unlikely to cause serious offense to the intended audience.
However the authority did find “the commercial was misleading” as a consequence of it’s “easiest finance on the planet” claim, and ordered the video to be removed and never used again in its current form.
Portage Cars general manager Craig Rutherford told NZME the corporate steers clear of promoting finance now as a consequence of the strict rules but they hadn’t been deterred from using sexual innuendo to sell cars.
“They’re working,” Rutherford said. “If we’ve had a vehicle in stock for some time we’ll do a review on it and it can sell just about immediately.”
