Nothing But A Goodtime

By Em Allen on January 31, 2014 in

In light of all the hoo-ha caused by the advertisements we’ve run in recent months for new Bondi Junction burger restaurant Goodtime Burgers, I thought it best to respond in print so that all Beast readers are clear where we stand on what seems to have become quite an issue.

For those of you who haven’t got the foggiest idea what I’m rattling on about, the advertisement in question featured a bikini-clad girl lying on the beach with her bottom nearest the camera and a beef patty sandwiched between her buttocks with the strapline “The freshest fun between the buns” (that actually makes it sound far worse than I believe it actually is).

As is often the case with advertisements that tread the fine line of offense and so-called ‘edginess’, a number of complaints were made to The Beast, the proprietor and the Advertising Standards Board (ASB). This resulted in the story doing the rounds in a number of national media outlets including the Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Telegraph and marketing website Mumbrella. I have heard that the story also featured on the British Guardian website. I guess it must’ve been a slow news week.

According to the ASB, one complainant wrote “the woman’s body and private parts are objectified as something for people (probably men) to consume”, a claim that Goodtime Burgers management has refuted, stating that the intention of the advertisement was not to objectify women, but to be a “play on words” in reference the word ‘buns’.

Despite this, in its determination the ASB said: “The Board considered that, although the advertiser intended the image to be a humorous depiction, the close up image of the woman’s bottom and the portrayal of her bottom as a burger likened the woman to a piece of meat or object for consumption and objectified women. The Board also considered that this depiction of a woman as a burger is exploitative of women and degrading.” It ordered that the ad be pulled from any further publication and Goodtime Burgers agreed not use the image again.

As any long time reader of The Beast would be well aware, we’re more than happy to push certain boundaries to a certain extant every now and then. Since we started The Beast nine years ago we have had a general policy of “if in doubt, leave it in”. This has not always made things easy for us but it has at times been eye opening and provided a great insight into what makes Eastern Suburbs residents tick (and what makes them boil with fury).

Personally, I believe that people are overthinking things a bit here, but that’s just my opinion. I too saw the ad as a pun on the word ‘buns’, not that women are a commodity to be consumed by men. I assumed the advertiser was also thinking the same way as it would be ludicrous to alienate 50% of your potential clientele before even opening the doors. Anyone who understands the difficulties of operating a business in the Eastern Suburbs would agree with this.

That said, I can categorically state that here at The Beast we do not support the objectifying of either gender. If you found the advertisement offensive, we do apologise. It is most certainly never our intention to offend, but in saying that, I can’t promise it won’t happen again. That, I’m afraid, is just the nature of The Beast.