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Burger ad banned for being too sexy

Saturday 19 Jan 2013 12:00 p.m.

Burger chain Carl's Jr has been stopped from airing an American advertisement after it was ruled to be using sex to sell an unrelated product.

The commercial for the Memphis BBQ Burger shows two women in bikini tops and short shorts grilling meat on an outside barbecue and then entwining their arms before eating burgers, as two open-mouthed men take pictures with a mobile phone.

It has aired in the US and Mexico but the Commercial Approvals Bureau (CAB), which must approve ads before they screen locally, said it used sex in an exploitative and degrading manner to sell an unrelated product.

CAB general manager Rob Hoar said the decision followed a standard set when complaints against Burger King advertisements featuring bikini-clad women riding horses were upheld, the New Zealand Herald reported.

Russell Creedy of Restaurant Brands, which operates the Carl's Jr franchise in New Zealand, said the decision reeked of a nanny state mentality.

However, National Council of Women vice-president Rae Duff said the advertisement was overtly sexual and its stereotyping of women led to an unhealthy focus on body image.

Restaurant Brands opened its first Carl's Jr restaurant in Mangere on November 29 and in five days of trading produced sales of $90,000. A second store in Palmerston North opened on December 12.

Restaurant Brands also operates the KFC, Pizza Hutt and Starbucks brands in New Zealand.

NZN

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