Unwelcome sauce for Australia’s lamb

An ad created for the Australian market featuring the multicultural attraction of local lamb through historical religious leaders has been hacked in the USA claiming that YouTube had found the ad offensive.

A spokesman for Meat and Livestock Australia told J-Wire the original ad is only to be found in the organisation’s YouTube channel and that the hacked version appears in a channel hosting less than 100 subscribers.

The video ad shows an outdoor lunch with guests including Moses, Jesus, Aphrodite, Ron E Hubbard and others including Hindu and other Asian religions. Mohammed calls and gives his apologies.

The point of the ad is to show that all the religions represented enjoy the ability to enjoy Australian lamb.

The original ad:

The version hacked in the U.S. ends with the following message: “YouTube has declared this ad offensive, and it is not eligible for monetization. Hence the censorship from the Jewish ADL (The American Anti-Defamation League) [ is dictating what is acceptable and where the world’s advertising dollars go. Creators are now denied $100,000,000 as YouTube funnels revenue to their chosen creators.”  The ads have attracted over than 55,000 hits.

The original ad did attract negative criticism but the MLA received a report from the Advertising Standards Bureau. The MLA said in a statement: “MLA welcomes the Advertising Standards Bureau’s dismissal of complaints that MLA breached the Advertising Standards Code in its latest Lamb advertising campaign. The ad has never been screened outside Australia.

Like previous “You Never Lamb Alone” campaigns, this year’s Spring Lamb campaign seeks to promote the value of unity and inclusivity.

There was never an intention to offend, rather we wanted to ensure that we were as inclusive as possible. To this end, those religions that don’t typically eat red meat are not shown consuming Lamb in the advertisement, but are still invited to the table.

MLA advertisements have a history of being irreverent and jovial, but we are a responsible advertiser acting always with the intent of adhering to the Advertising Standards Code. Today’s outcome reflects our ongoing commitment to the Code and to responsible advertising.”

The hacked ad:

When the campaign was launched the MLA said it was positioning Lamb as the meat more people can eat regardless of their religious beliefs, background or dietary requirements.

MLA Group Marketing Manager Andrew Howie said the new campaign continues under the ‘You Never Lamb Alone’ banner and this time around shows no matter your beliefs, background or persuasion, the one thing we can all come together and unite over, is lamb.

“We know that Lamb has been the meat that brings everyone together for decades, and what better way to celebrate the product than over a modern spring barbecue,” Mr Howie said.

“Our marketing aims to reach more consumers by making lamb more relevant to a diverse, modern Australia. This time around we are highlighting the diversity of religious beliefs, backgrounds and dietary requirements in modern Australia.”

J-Wire has asked for comments from YouTube, the ADL and Australia’s Kashrut Authority.