We pay tribute to 10 of the most unusual TV ad complaints made to – and dismissed by – the ASA in the last 12 months.

Spend just a few minutes reading the decisions on the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) website and you’ll quickly discover that nothing gets past New Zealand television audiences. Whether it’s cartoon cats being unfairly stereotyped by a power company or a scary ad in the middle of our favourite show, it seems we’re not afraid to see something we disagree with and then exercise our democratic right to complain about it. 

The Advertising Standards Authority investigates complaints from New Zealanders who believe advertising codes have been breached, including ads on television (live and on demand), online, radio and print. They handle our gripes about a dangerous Handysaw infomercial, our worries about the Trivago blokes getting stuck in sand, and they hear our concerns about the road safety of the split-in-two car in the Spark ads. 

Many complaints to the ASA are upheld, but others are dismissed on the grounds that they don’t reach the threshold to breach the relevant advertising standards. In the name of television, we pay tribute to 10 of the most unusual ad complaints dismissed by the ASA in the last 12 months. 

Disgusting

“A child picking their nose is disgusting,” one viewer complained in September last year, after watching a kid dig for gold in this ad for Dettol hand sanitiser. The ASA – clearly a friend to both fingers and noses – disagreed, stating that the ad didn’t breach standards relating to decency and offensiveness. However, this complainant wasn’t the only one horrified by such a blatant finger up the honker – the same ad earned a whopping 70 complaints when it screened in Australia in 2025. 

Magical car boot

Humanity has grappled with many unsolved mysteries over the years, like what really happens in the Bermuda Triangle, how the pyramids of Egypt were actually built and how the boot opens in this Audi car ad. “Advert shows a surfer having come from the water with his surf board and the boot rear door opens automatically allowing him to put surfboard in car,” a puzzled viewer wrote in March. “How was the boot door opened?? No sign of surfer activating anything.” The ASA wasn’t activated either, but it still makes you think. 

Up and gone

Even a ready-to-drink liquid breakfast isn’t safe from the indignation of television audiences, after one observer protested about a Sanitarium Up and Go ad that featured a speedy cyclist pinching the cartoned drink out of the hands of a thirsty lass. “This is promoting stealing…and the same scenario used to steal mobile phones in the UK,” they wrote. “I’m surprised that this met the code. Stealing in any shape or form is still a crime.” Up and no, judged the ASA.

Woke holiday

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, as long as you’re not watching ads on the telly. An annoyed observer embraced last year’s festive season by taking umbrage with a Coke ad that had the audacity to repeat the phrase “holidays are coming”. “I find this very offensive as the advert has adopted the woke American euphemism of referring to ‘holidays’ when everyone knows they are referring to Christmas,” they fumed. Straight to the naughty list, no further action taken by the ASA. 

Pointing at genitals

“Win this ute by checking your balls,” a prostate cancer awareness campaign promised last year, but its TV ads promoting a “lump lottery” annoyed one viewer. The complainant agreed with the cancer prevention message, but took issue with three men pointing to their genitals at the end of the ad. “There is NO need for that,” the viewer grumbled. “I do not want to see men pointing to their genitals when I watch tv.” A sore point indeed, although the ASA ruled that pointing to genitals did not breach advertising codes.  

Tina from… Paeroa??

The Spinoff’s Alex Casey isn’t the only one to question why Tina from Turners sings “Paekākāriki” while standing in front of the big L&P bottle in Paeroa. Another keen viewer watched the ad in September last year and was annoyed by several more questionable moments from Tina’s road trip around Aotearoa. “At 28 seconds, the actor refers to ‘Putāruru’ while the background displays Tīrau’s giant sheep… At 32 seconds, the actor refers to ‘Tongan flags’ while producing a Samoan flag.” Were we being misled by Our Tina? The ASA ruled: no. 

Rexona gets us in a stink

Several New Zealanders got into a heavy sweat over a Rexona ad for whole body deodorant which featured the words “BUMS”, “BALLS” and “NUTS” superimposed over jaunty closeups of moving body parts. “This is crude, can be seen as sexual in some instances and just in poor taste at this time of night,” one steaming mad viewer wrote, while the other took issue with Rexona’s fruity choice of language. “Use proper names for body parts if you make a body advert, kids are taught this now at Primary School onwards. Sounds ridiculous currently as it is.” 

The ASA stayed cool and took no further action, but did note that the ad had played during the news (!) and Country Calendar (!!) and that broadcasters must be mindful that young people may be watching during children’s ordinary viewing hours. 

Hands off the birthday cake

Archgola? More like Arch-NO-la, after a viewer was annoyed by an Archgola ad that featured a child smooshing their hand into a birthday cake and then wiping it onto another kid’s face. “This demonstrates a disgusting and disrespectful behaviour that most would find unacceptable and does not add value to advertisement. Concerningly, it may encourage this behaviour in young children who see the ad,” they protested. The ASA disagreed, and not because they really like the flexibility that a custom-designed outdoor pergola canopy offers.  

Goldilocks’ grammar sucks

Goldilocks is known for many things – good hair, high standards, love of fur – but bad grammar wasn’t one of them until this Noel Leeming ad hit our screens. Goldilocks might well need the nice Noel Leeming man to set her new TV up “perfect”, but the use of this single word really riled up one viewer. “The grammar is appalling; ‘perfect’ instead of ’perfectly,” they grumbled. The ASA decided the complaint wasn’t too hard, too soft or just right, and took no further action. 

Beef with New World meat

Beef kebabs aren’t often a source of public ire, but one television watcher was sick to the back teeth of New World’s “meat the parents” ad featuring a father cooking a delicious meal for his daughter and her butcher boyfriend. “The ad portrays the man as an incompetent liar,” the viewer seethed, adding that the ad “clearly denigrates men on the basis of their gender”. The ASA decided no beef here, while the kebab did not wish to comment.