Complaints in Ireland against the mobile phone company Meteor by a transgender group have been upheld by the country's advertising watchdog, reports the Irish Times.
The Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI) agreed with the Transgender Equality Network Ireland that a TV advertisement for mobile broadband depicted transgender people negatively by "promoting stereotypes and encouraging a good laugh".
Part of the ad, which highlights bad ways to access mobile broadband, showed a man dancing with what looks like a woman in a bar while surfing the internet over "her" shoulder.
When the woman is revealed to be a man in drag a slogan appears saying: "Don't dance for it".
The ASAI upheld two complaints of its code. The first states that advertisements should not cause offence on several grounds including sexual orientation. The second states that such groups should not be subject to "ridicule or offensive humour".
A separate complaint was also upheld against broadband provider PermaNet over an advert that depicted a man climbing up to a roof to obtain a proper broadband signal.
When the signal becomes clear his "perfect mate" turns out to be a man wearing a white frilly dress, red lipstick and a blonde wig.
The ASAI found that the reaction of the man on seeing his "perfect mate" was to "recoil in a manner that portrayed a very negative message in relation to the person depicted in the photograph".
Source: Irish Times
