The Ad Standards Community Panel has issued a report on ad by Australian clothing retailer Billy Bones Club.
The ASCP investigated the YouTube ad after a complaint about the ad, which includes footage of young people drinking and smoking.
The video, which can be viewed below, depicts three women driving while smoking, and drinking from glass bottles. Then a group is shown partying outdoors while smoking and consuming alcohol.
It was first posted seven years ago, but the complaint was made recently.
The complainant argued that the ad promoted smoking as part of the Billy Bones Club’s image, and that it breached health and safety standards.
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, the Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) Act bans any form of communication or activity that directly or indirectly promotes smoking or vaping, or the use of tobacco products.
Accordingly, the ASCP was found to be in breach.
Billy Bones Club ad breaches standards
The ASCP report said: “The Panel considered that the ad leveraged the typical rebellious youth lifestyle, including scenes where a character gestures to others with his middle fingers, scenes with characters apparently drinking straight from the bottle and scenes where the characters are shown smoking.
“While the Panel acknowledge that this was likely the deliberate brand positioning to align with the advertiser’s ‘bad to the bones’ aspirations, it expressed concerns over the fact that the rebellious behaviour included behaviour that would be considered unhealthy and unsafe by community standards.”
The report added: “The Panel considered that the community at large has moved away from the notion that smoking is considered appealing or essential to one’s image.”
The Billy Bones Club did not respond to the panel decision.
The ASCP has referred a copy of the decision to Google’s Trust and Safety team for review.
Top Image: A photo from the official Billy Bones Club Instagram page. Not the advertisement that breached standards. Image: Instagram