Advertisers must take care not to portray or depict material in a way that discriminates against or vilifies a person or group.
Section 2.1 of the AANA Code of Ethics states:
Advertising or Marketing Communications shall not portray people or depict material in a way which discriminates against or vilifies a person or section of the community on account of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, sexual preference, religion, disability, mental illness or political belief.
Discrimination means unfair or less favourable treatment.
Vilification means content which humiliates or intimidates, or incites hatred, contempt or ridicule.
For more detail and guidance on the portrayal of people in advertising read the AANA Code of Ethics: Practice Note.
Visit our education page to learn more or view a case study for discrimination or vilification here.
Examples of previous decisions
Age
Examples of ads found in breach of Section 2.1 of the Code of Ethics:
| Summary | Case examples |
| Depicting elderly people being treated less favourably or being shown as foolish in a ridiculing or mocking way. | South Australian Tourism Commission – 2019 LTD Rentals – 2020 |
Examples of ads found not in breach of Section 2.1 of the Code of Ethics:
| Summary | Case examples |
| Stereotypically depicting of older people in ads which is not negative. | Red Rooster – 2023 SA Police – 2022 Uber Australia Pty Ltd – 2021 Telstra – 2020 |
| Portraying older people as sexual beings. | Network Gaming Tasmania – 2022 |
| Depicting older people taking part in activities that are usually undertaken by younger people. | GoDaddy,com – 2019 |
| Depicting an older person learning to use technology | Uber Australia – 2024 |
| Promoting home help services doesn’t imply that older people are incapable of looking after themselves. | Simply Helping – 2024 |
| Depicting aged care facilities and residents. | Craveable Brands – 2019 |
| Using phrases like ‘old mate’ as a placeholder for a name that is unknown. | Brooks Hire – 2020 |
| Using phrases like ‘Boomer’ to describe an older generation. | Nando’s Australia – 2023 |
Disability or mental illness
Examples of ads found in breach of Section 2.1 of the Code of Ethics:
| Summary | Case examples |
| Showing a lack of concern or seriousness for a debilitating condition in a manner that treats sufferers less favourably will constitute discrimination. | 4WD SupaCentre – 2022 Nimble – 2022 Lotterywest – 2020 |
Examples of ads found not in breach of Section 2.1 of the Code of Ethics:
| Summary | Case examples |
| Advertising depicting someone who is angry, frustrated or acting unusually. | Treasury Wine Estates – 2022 Yum Restaurants International – 2021 LG Electronics Aust Pty Ltd – 2019 |
| Depicting a person with vision impairment in a way that is humorous but not shown to be demean or mock the person. | Specsavers Pty Ltd – 2023 Specsavers Pty Ltd – 2022 |
Gender
Examples of ads found in breach of Section 2.1 of the Code of Ethics:
| Summary | Case examples |
| Suggesting that men who defer to their partner should be ridiculed or thought less of will likely breach the Code. | Sportsbet – 2020 |
| Reducing women to sexual objects for men’s pleasure presents women in a manner which is degrading and shows them in an unfair or less favourable manner when there is no relation to the product or service being advertised. | Wicked Campers – 2021 Wicked Campers – 2020 |
| Referencing transgender individuals using terms that are derogatory and vilifying are not acceptable and will breach the Code. | Wicked Campers – 2022 |
| Unintelligible, domineering or humiliating depictions of, or references to, women will breach the Code. | Unibet – 2022 Bang Hero – 2020 Sportsbet – 2019 |
| Referencing a negative gender stereotype, such as women talking too much or being less capable then men, does amount to material which discriminates against and/or vilifies people on the basis of gender. | Aveling Homes – 2022 The BOSS Shop – 2022 Wicked Campers – 2021 |
Examples of ads found not in breach of Section 2.1 of the Code of Ethics:
| Summary | Case examples |
| Depicting young boys and girls playing with toys or with personality traits traditionally stereotyped to their gender is not of itself a breach. | Hasbro Australia – 2021 Ferrero Australia – 2020 PharmaCare – 2020 |
| Depicting men and women in roles reflective of gender stereotypes when the stereotypes are not negative and there is no suggestion that the roles are limited to a particular gender. | Rexel Electrical Supplies – 2024 SA Police – 2024 Arrotex Pharmaceuticals – 2023 Clorox Australia – 2023 Drakes Supermarkets – 2022 MediPro Capital Finance – 2022 SocietyOne – 2021 |
| Appearing to be targeted towards one gender. | P&N Bank – 2023 Department of Transport Victoria – 2023 Universal Home Theatre – 2021 Medex Australia – 2021 |
| Using common colloquial phrasing, such as ‘are you man enough’. | Schnithouse Hilton – 2021 |
| Referencing baldness is not inherently discriminatory towards men. | Mosh – 2021 |
| Depicting a woman as more in control of a situation than a man is not itself discriminatory towards men. | Toyota Motor Corporation Australia – 2020 Hotels Combined – 2019 Electrolux Home Products – 2019 |
| Referring to violence against women and depicting a man as the perpetrator, or community service ads showing a man as the perpetrator, is not itself discriminatory towards men. | Department of Social Services – 2021 SA Police – 2021 Department of Premier and Cabinet (Victoria) – 2017 |
| Advertising treatments for erectile dysfunction is not itself discriminatory towards men. | Bergamet – 2020 Hanes Brands – 2020 |
| Depicting men as incompetent or inexperienced in one situation does not suggest that this same situation applies to all men, or that it is specific to men. | Koh – 2024 Unicharm Australasia – 2023 Massel Australia – 2021 Wisr – 2021 eBay Australia & New Zealand – 2020 Craveable Brands – 2020 PD Insurance – 2020 |
| Depicting a woman as embarrassed or foolish in one situation does not suggest that this same situation applies to all women, or that it is specific to women. | Super Cheap Auto Pty Ltd – 2021 Yum Restaurants – 2021 |
| Using female stereotypes in a way that is not negative is not itself discriminatory towards women. | Newscorp Australia – 2023 AHM Health Insurance – 2021 Austrak Campers – 2021 ALDI Australia – 2020 |
| Dramatising certain situations facing women in a light-hearted manner. | Meat and Livestock Australia – 2021 Hanes Brand Inc – 2019 |
| Featuring topics like menstruation or incontinence are not inherently discriminatory towards women. | Asaleo Care – 2021 Modibodi – 2020 Kimberly-Clark – 2020 |
| Suggesting that a person may not want to have children is not discriminatory towards parents or children. | Doctors on Demand – 2021 |
Ethnicity, race or nationality
Examples of ads found in breach of Section 2.1 of the Code of Ethics:
| Summary | Case examples |
| Depicting someone of a particular racial type being feared by other people leaves a negative impression of people of that ethnicity, and amounts to vilification. | University of Sydney – 2017 |
| Depicting immigrants/refugees in a negative way is discriminatory. | Trelly’s Tackle World Shepparton – 2017 |
| Mocking or being likely to give a negative impression of a particular race, ethnicity or nationality is seen to be discriminatory and vilifying. | Newsome Tyre & Mechanical – 2022 Maze Distributions – 2020 Mr Wongs Hydraulics – 2018 |
| Using humorous or mocking references to how another culture is different, such as their names sounding different, is likely to be seen as inciting ridicule of that culture and be found to breach the Code. | Sportsbet – 2021 |
Examples of ads found not in breach of Section 2.1 of the Code of Ethics:
| Summary | Case examples |
| Using only one race or ethnicity in an ad is not itself discriminatory towards other races. | InstantScripts – 2022 Menulog – 2020 Localsearch – 2020 |
| Using stereotypes of different nationalities where the stereotypes are not negative or derogatory. | Pointsbet Australia Pty Limited – 2022 IKEA – 2022 BCF – 2020 |
| Using people in situations where there is no reference to or focus on the person’s ethnicity and where it is not suggested that they are representative of all people of that ethnicity are not inherently discriminatory. | Australian Liquor Marketers – 2024 ALDI Australia – 2023 Uber Australia – 2023 Telstra – 2023 Western Sydney Care Collective – 2023 Kenzo – 2023 Yum Restaurants International – 2021 |
| Using an international accent in a way which does not mock the country it is from is not discriminatory. | Bayswater Car Rental – 2023 L & J Webb Fencing – 2021 Newsomes Tyre & Mechanical – 2021 The Italian Pizza House – 2021 |
| Using a fictional culture that bears similarities to a real culture or ethnicity is not discriminatory. | Carlton and United breweries – 2022 |
Religion
Examples of ads found in breach of Section 2.1 of the Code of Ethics:
| Summary | Case examples |
| Depicting an important religious belief in a demeaning way is seen by the Community Panel to be vilification of religion. | Valley Butchers – 2019 Gifting Life – 2018 |
Examples of ads found not in breach of Section 2.1 of the Code of Ethics:
| Summary | Case examples |
| Using imagery related to religious holidays such as Christmas or Easter, along with relevant visuals e.g. visuals of a decorated tree and a man dressed as Santa Claus or rabbits and chocolate eggs, are not inherently discriminatory towards Christianity. | Aldi Australia – 2021 Take Two Interactive (2K Games) – 2020 Hanes Brands Inc – 2019 |
| Using phrases like ‘Thank God’ and ‘Jesus’ as expressions of relief is not itself discriminatory on the basis of religion. | Scaffwise – 2020 SBS Corporation – 2019 ALDI Australia – 2019 |
| Using religiously affiliated music and themes in ads for non-religious based products is not itself discriminatory on the basis of religion. | ALDI Australia – 2024 Saintly Beverages – 2020 |
| Referencing or depicting religious figures which don’t identify a specific religion is not itself discriminatory. | Burger Urge – 2023 Sportsbet – 2023 Entain Group Pty Ltd – 2021 |