Sex sells - but bold ad doesn't last long

By Elizabeth Spry

BUNDAMBA grandmother Carol Wallace is relieved roadside billboards advertising "longer lasting sex" are being censored.

"I think it's revolting," Ms Wallace said.

"My eight-year-old grand-daughter was in the car with her mother and asked: 'Do you want longer lasting sex?'"

After an 18-month battle with the Advertising Standards Bureau (ABS), the Advanced Medical Institute (AMI) lost its right to keep sex on its signs.

The ABS said it received between five to 15 complaints each week about the ads and announced in August they would be removed.

This decision was a reversal of the bureau's decision last year that deemed the advertisements acceptable.

But rather than remove the signs, the AMI has covered the word 'sex' with a black-and-white 'censored' sticker, which appeared on a billboard at Goodna on the Ipswich Motorway this week.

State Member for Bundamba Jo-Ann Miller was pleased the signs had been censored.

"I've had complaints about it and I'm glad they've put censors over them," Mrs Miller said.

"People have enough to deal with in their lives without having slogans and that type distracting them from the road.

"I don't think there's any reason for them to be advertising this type of rubbish - if they want to do this kind of product, let them take out ads in papers and letterbox drops so that the community is not distracted on the road."

AMI chief executive officer Associate Professor Jack Vaisman said: "We've said all along that we're not out to offend anyone - the purpose of our direct advertising is to let men who are suffering sexual problems know that help is available.

"We need to be direct in our advertising because we've found men don't respond to the message otherwise."

Prof Vaisman said AMI would put 'censored' stickers on their billboards Australia-wide as quickly as possible.

Advertising Standards Bureau chief executive officer Alison Abernethy was unavailable for comment yesterday.