Sportsbet TV ad sets new Aussie record for most complaints

A sports betting advert by online sportsbook operator Sportsbet has set a new Australian record for public complaints.

On Wednesday, the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Ad Standards CEO Fiona Jolly saying that a Sportsbet 15-second promo had received 793 complaints since it first aired on Australian free-to-air television in March. That easily surpassed the previous record of 481 complaints the regulator received regarding a 2014 ad for a dating website.

The ad in question begins by showing a youngish man in a bathroom, visible only from the waist up but apparently naked and engaged in some ‘manscaping’ of his nether regions with an electric razor.

Startled by the Sportsbet pitchman’s booming voiceover detailing a ‘head to head’ mobile betting feature, he appears to inadvertently cut himself, although this is never actually visible.