UK lifts ban on 'bloody' ad campaign - Saturday Mar 18 10:02 AEDT
British advertising regulators have backed down and lifted their ban on the word "bloody" in Tourism Australia's controversial "Where the bloody hell are you?" campaign.
Britain's Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre (BACC) last week imposed a ban on commercial television there using the word "bloody" in the $A180 million campaign.
It resulted in a hurried flight to London by federal Tourism Minister Fran Bailey, who, amid a blaze of priceless publicity, complained the English had lost their sense of humour.
Ms Bailey announcement of the lifting of the ban follows meetings with the BACC, the UK Minister for Tourism and Creative Industries and the Chairman of the Advertising Standards Authority.
"I am pleased that common sense prevailed and the regulators realised the campaign was intended to be cheeky, friendly and very Australian," Ms Bailey said in a statement.
Ms Bailey had put forward three arguments - "bloody" had been used in British television advertisements twice before; that Tourism Australia research in Britain found "bloody" was not regarded as offensive; and that there had been no complaints in those countries that had already screened the ads.
"My faith in the British sense of humour has been restored. It was well worth the fight, especially given the half a million jobs that tourism already creates and with the potential for many more," Ms Bailey said.
"Now it's time to get on with the campaign and get more British tourists to visit Australia!."
The ban had applied only to television advertisements. Print, online and cinema campaigns were free to use "bloody".
The BACC currently lists "bloody" as its 27th ranked most offensive word, behind "crap" and just ahead of "God".
Other words on the BACC's current banned list include bastard (6th), bollocks (8th), bugger (21st), sodding (24th) and Jesus Christ (25th).
The tourism campaign was launched three weeks ago and features natural Australian icons such as beaches, the Great Barrier Reef, the outback, Sydney Harbour and Uluru.
The ads end with bikini-clad model Laura Bingle, who accompanied Ms Bailey to London, saying: "We've saved you a spot on the beach - so where the bloody hell are you?"
The campaign will now be run in its entirety on television, as well as in cinemas, in print and on the internet.
©AAP 2006