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27th November 2006, 11:00 WST
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.as...ontentID=14640
A new Western Force advertisement featuring a man being hit by an over-stretched “occy strap” has raised the ire of health experts and Swan MHR Kim Wilkie, who have called for it to be taken off air.
Mr Wilkie said the advertisement, which he saw for the first time last week, trivialised injuries caused by the elastic straps known as occy straps which could cause blindness and even death.
“This ad is just not funny and it would be very concerning if young kids saw it and thought being hit by an occy strap would not hurt them but rather be amusing,” he said. He said he had raised his concerns with Channel 9 and Western Force but the advertisement was still going to air.
Rugby WA spokesman Tom Baddeley said the advertisement was meant to be in good humour and portray typical Australian larrikinism.
“We certainly did not mean for it to offend anyone. If anything we think it would act more as a warning of how not to use occy straps,” he said.
Mr Wilkie said he did not have any concerns with two other advertisements for the rugby team, one featuring a tarantula and the other a Lotto win.
“I wish the Western Force all the best in its international competition but I believe a different advertisement should have been used in the campaign,” he said.
Ophthalmologist at the Lions Eye Institute, Mei-Ling Tay-Kearney, said he saw hundreds of eye injuries caused by occy straps and would prefer the advertisement was taken off air.
“This sends the wrong message to the community, especially children. If the eye sustains a severe blow, such as that released from the occy strap, blood can leak inside the eye which blocks its drainage system,” she said. In severe cases, it could cause blindness.
Mr Wilkie said occy strap injuries were the second-most common cause of eye trauma and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission had put out warnings about the elastic straps.
In 1996 a 13-year-old boy died when an occy strap he was using to secure supermarket trolleys slipped and whipped him in the throat.
You can view the ad on RugbyWA site HERE
Must say the first thing that came to my mind when seeing it on TV was the trolley jockey incident too....
Dear Lord, if you give us back Johnny Cash, we'll give you Justin Bieber.
bureaucracy gone wrong. politcs should stay out of sport.
Yeah.. i reckon they should all just piss off and let it be, its a pure example of what this sociaty has become..
Spot on Beav.
the punters friend..... stick with me and you will be wearing
wowsers............
I havnt seen the advert, but with the way our youth seem to be more advanced in their age that when I was a youth growing up, we dont want to give them any new ideas!
Mind you I have only read the paper report, not seen the advert.
You've got to be kidding me?!?!?!?
Next thing the Head Zoo Keeper will be on the phone from South Perth complaining that the spider is being displayed as something to be terrified of when in fact they are really nice pets for some people.
Bloody hell, get a grip!!!![]()
"Bloody oath we did!"
Nathan Sharpe, Legend.
I was a bit surprised at the ad, given the violence of it (serious injury would normally result from such a hit), BUT I don't think it's encouraging the kiddies to "try this at home."
Why does there always need to be a sub context with these sort of things. Why can't they ever be taken at face value and appreciated for the humour... not made into something they're not by suggesting they send out a violent and irrational message.
It's entertainment... what's wrong with just having a chuckle at it and moving on? Not everything needs to have an offensive hidden message.
But in reality every single advert or television show out there is going to offend someone on some level.
You can't please everyone. *shrugs*
I made Happy sad...
ACA, TT and reality TV offend me, and provide poor examples to the kiddies. They should be taken off the air for the good of everyone.
Its the only one of the three ads that you can even remotely make me out in...
...so I say it stays!
Just set the trend and stop watching them. Unfortunately there is a market for those types of shows so they won't go away any time soon but when they're on you don't have to watch.Originally Posted by tragic
Switch off the tele and play board games with the kiddies.
I love board games.![]()
I made Happy sad...
I don't watch them, Jess, but I do get a (bad, lingering) taste of them from the promos, and am subject to "OMG OMG OMG did u c that skank on TT OMG" at work the following day. Yech.
Please actually watch the ad before you comment. You can view it here
Or come on TWFOriginally Posted by Jess
![]()
"Bloody oath we did!"
Nathan Sharpe, Legend.