Medibank has received a complaint through Ad Standards, which manages the complaint resolution process of the advertising self-regulation system in Australia, over its email advertisement.
The complaint submitted to Ad Standards argued that the phrase “You're a bendy, body-twisting badass” in Medibank's email ad to describe senior citizens with osteoarthritis was “offensive or aggressive.”
According to the letter submitted to Ad Standards, the complainant's 84-year-old mother, Jane, received Medibank member correspondence titled, “Jane, are you living with pain in your joints?” Upon opening the email to read further, the following statement appears in large font: “You're a bendy, body-twisting badass,” which the complainant deemed inappropriate.
“It is inappropriate that they have used the word ‘badass’ in an ad campaign sent to their senior members. It seems that we are all supposed to be mindful and sensitive about what we say these days and careful not to offend anyone; however, this apparently excludes the senior citizens
of Australia, who are the majority of our population,” the complainant wrote in a letter to Ad Standards. “Younger generations are campaigning for respect and rights that may have been missing in our everyday dialogue including in advertising; however, what about maintaining or rather
promoting the respect of our aged citizens and being mindful of what may offend them?”
In response to the complaint, the advertiser explained that the campaign aimed to “celebrate just how amazing the human body is and specifically how incredible our joints are to help us reach our full potential.”
The advertiser noted that one in five Australians (22%) over the age of 45 have osteoarthritis, and the ad wanted to acknowledge the prevalence of the condition with the targeted audience.
“We want to inspire people to look after their joint health and know that they can access support no matter where they are in their health journey. The language used in the headline is intended to make people feel empowered to take care of their health, rather than limited, and to celebrate what their body is capable of with the confidence that there is support available to help them do so,” the advertiser said.
The Ad Standards Community Panel analysed whether the Medibank ad breached Section 2 of the AANA Code of Ethics, which states: “Advertising or Marketing Communications shall only use language which is appropriate in the circumstances (including appropriate for the relevant audience and medium). Strong or obscene language shall be avoided.”
After careful consideration, the panel noted that:
However, the panel decided that the term is not offensive or aggressive. Therefore, the ad did not breach the code.
