Shaquille O’Neal has gotten in trouble with fans as his ads about gambling aired in Australia. The commercials for PointsBet is being labelled as being offensive against Australians.
News.co.au reports that the viewer complained about the ad, which caused authorities to look into it. The complainant stated that the ad was discriminatory. They also alleged that the commercial was portraying Australians as stupid.
The complainant said that the ad was putting down Australian culture and that they found this to be offensive.
In the ad which received the complaint, Australian comedy group The Inspired Unemployed and Shaquille O’Neal appear together. In it, they can be seen sitting around when Shaw asks about a putting $50 on a horse in an upcoming race.
The men then respond in a way that could be interpreted as offensive. “Yeah Nah, I’d give her the old (whistle) ya know? How ya going, how ya been? Nah Yeah Nah, Yeah Yeah.”
It continues on, with a confused Shaq saying that he’s called Shaqadile Dundee.
The company that ran the ads, PointsBet, had to come out in defence to the Ad Standards panel. They stated that the ad is completely in tune with all the applicable codes and legislative regimes. They also explained that the ad was never intended to be disrespectful towards Australians in any way whatsoever.
The company stated that Australia and its people is known to be unique throughout the world. The people there have their own colloquialisms in the English language, as well as mannerisms which people who are not familiar with the culture would struggle to understand.
The complaint was then dismissed by the panel after it was found that the ad didn’t breach the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) Code of Ethics.
