Australian Marketing Mistake

A TELEVISION advertisement featuring the Brisbane Broncos NRL team has been banned because it shows star player Sam Thaiday stealing chocolate bars from a vending machine.

The NRMA commercial was launched in May and depicts the Brisbane team helping out in the insurance giant’s office.

The company claims the ad was “light-hearted”, but the joke didn’t go down well with some viewers.

“Why would they show stealing using so called children’ role models such a Thaiday,” said one vending machine owner who complained to the Advertising Standards Board.

“I own vending machines ... theft of product is always a concern.”

However, the ASB ruled: “The Board considered that there is no suggestion that the player has not paid for one of the products and that there is not necessarily a suggestion of theft. However the Board noted it would not be the case that the man would have paid for the number of product that fell from the machine and that therefore there is a depiction or suggestion of theft.”

Click here to view the ad.