A consumer complaint against a radio advert for High Rise capsules has been dismissed by the Advertising Regulatory Board, which found that while the commercial is heavy on innuendo, it is not offensive or in breach of the advertising code.
Listener Abby Muil laid a complaint against GM Pharmaceuticals for an advert that has been flighted on East Coast Radio for several months, stating it is not appropriate for children to hear, and that it is hurtful and offensive to men suffering erectile dysfunction.
The board published a finding on the complaint against the radio plug for High Rise capsules, beginning with a description of the content.
“At the start of the commercial, we hear sheets rustling and a woman yawning. She and her male partner say good morning to each other. Then she asks: ‘Have you run out of High Rise capsules?’
He responds: “Ja, about a week ago.”
She says, “Mmmm, I’ve noticed. How’s things at the gym?”
“A bit flat actually.”
“Mmmm, like the sheets on your side of the bed.”
“Hey!” he responds. “That’s a bit rough.”
“It is for me too,” she says. “I’ll get some High Rise capsules today.”
The voice-over then says: “High Rise, the high-performance daily supplement.”
It discusses availability then concludes: “High Rise never lets you down so you won’t let her down.”
Muil stated she understood the advert to portray a woman questioning her partner’s arousal dysfunction.
“It is inappropriate for a family-friendly station and comes across as offensive and insensitive to male (and female) listeners who may be experiencing a similar medical condition,” Muil complained.
GM Pharmaceuticals responded to her complaint by stating the capsules were a daily performance supplement sold at pharmacies such as Dischem and Clicks. It was not an aphrodisiac but classed as a complementary medicine.
“This is the second year of advertising High Rise on East Coast Radio. This advert in particular has been airing for five months, and this is the first and only complaint in two years,” GM Pharmaceuticals said.
“We have had feedback from many customers, suppliers, colleagues and friends — all positive and lighthearted.”
That a particular product, service or advertisement may be offensive to some is not in itself sufficient grounds for upholding an objection to an advertisement for that product or services.
— Advertising Regulatory Board
The company said if the advert was found to be offensive to children, they could move the broadcast times to “out-of-peak school dropping and fetching times, thus still allowing us to air the advert”.
In applying the code of advertising practice, the board viewed the advert in line with the complaint — looking at whether the material was offensive and if it was inappropriate material for child listeners.
“That a particular product, service or advertisement may be offensive to some is not in itself sufficient grounds for upholding an objection to an advertisement for that product or services,” the board said.
“Advertisements addressed to or likely to influence children should not contain any statement or visual presentation which might result in harming them, mentally, morally, physically or emotionally.”
The board found that the High Rise commercial relies heavily on innuendo.
“In fact, the directorate double-checked what High Rise capsules are actually supposed to do, given the oblique possible references to sexual performance in the commercial,” stated the board, explaining that product marketing states that they help users “cope with a demanding lifestyle”.
The board stated: “The commercial itself references the man feeling ‘a bit flat’, and there is a reference to the sheets on his side of the bed being likewise flat, and that’s the extent of the innuendo. Nonetheless, given the name of the tablets, the general tone, and the pay-off line, ‘High Rise, never lets you down so you won’t let her down’, it is reasonable to interpret that the product is suggesting that it enhances sexual performance in some way, as well as improving general energy levels.”
The board found that while a “woman expressing disappointment at her husband’s performance is perhaps not the kindest approach, the brand promise of High Rise capsules is expressed in such a roundabout way that it is not entirely clear what it is suggesting that the product will help with”.
The finding was that the commercial could be suggesting the man is too tired to have sex with his partner, rather than having an actual mechanical problem. It was also found that products aimed at assisting erectile dysfunction should be allowed to communicate this.
“Given that sexual performance is referenced so obliquely in the commercial, the directorate does not believe that a child who has no understanding of sexual matters would be given any kind of inappropriate insight or understanding as a result of hearing this commercial. If any questions were to arise, a parent could easily answer that the pills give energy, which would in fact appear to be exactly what they claim to do,” the ruling stated.
The commercial was deemed not harmful to children and therefore not in breach.
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