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Dotcom billboard complaint upheld

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Dotcom billboard complaint upheld

3News NZ

Kim Dotcom and his wife Mona

Kim Dotcom and his wife Mona

Complaints about a Tui beer billboard that poked fun at internet tycoon and piracy accused Kim Dotcom and his wife Mona have been upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The billboard, which appeared in locations throughout the country, stated: "She clearly married Dotcom for his body. Yeah right".

One complainant said the billboard insinuated that "Mr Dotcom has an unattractive body and that Mrs Dotcom married him for his body".

Other complainants shared this view and some added that the billboard was "hurtful and insulting" to overweight people in general.

The ASA complaints board said in its decision, released today, that while the advertisement was intended to be humorous, the statement was "disparaging of, and derogatory to, both Mr Dotcom and his wife in a highly personal way which was not saved by the allowance for the use if humour".

DB Breweries said it had removed all the billboards.

NZN

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Comments

9/01/2013 6:05:49 p.m.

Manisha wrote:

Unethical marketing.

26/11/2012 12:46:16 p.m.

Mal wrote:

Sinking low. Shame shame shame DB.

24/11/2012 4:04:22 p.m.

dennis wrote:

David Fisher has written an important story (important to Megaupload) in today's Herald. David, like Patrick Gower and John Campbell, reports the issues from the basis of proper investigation and does not try to make-up news such as the story: "Megaupload's Kim Dotcom may have faked clean slate". That needs reporting to a standards authority and would have created far more damage to Kim and Mona than Tui's billboard. It helped create a mindset that this company must be a bunch of criminals. Exactly what the FBI and David Collins intended. There is just one minor detail that David hasn't got right. Money Laundering charges do not bolster the extradition application in any way. Money laundering (a NZ offence) needs a "serious offence" as its derivative (s243 Crimes Act). Any validity to an extradition application relies totally on secondary copyright infringement being a criminal offence. A German Court comprising 3 judges, and Takapuna Court comprising 1 judge - expert in intellectual property issues - find insufficient evidence of criminal liability '

24/11/2012 1:07:55 p.m.

jan.. wrote:

Body size has nothing to do with being in love, the Tui beer billboard morons are out of tune by insulting the oversize people that they should be ban from any advertisement agency, I don't blame Dotcom and Mona if they decide to sue the idiots remarks for billions of dollars, and that is' what Dotcom is good at producing, so watch your arses pig heads.

24/11/2012 11:22:50 a.m.

Carlos wrote:

Time for this fat crim to go and face the music in USA. He hasn't even got a sense of humour ?!!

24/11/2012 11:07:23 a.m.

Bill wrote:

So the truth hurts

24/11/2012 9:53:29 a.m.

sam wrote:

i can understand why dotcom and his wife wud b upset, since the billboards made fun of his appearance and their relationship...i admit tho ut didake me laugh, since it was very cheeky. the outcome of the extradition hearing will b intersting

24/11/2012 8:38:35 a.m.

John wrote:

Even putting up a billboard like this shows the low level of Tui beer management.

24/11/2012 7:54:04 a.m.

Gaza wrote:

Yeah right

24/11/2012 7:31:19 a.m.

dennis wrote:

@CG: Yeah, but he wouldn't get it. Judy Potter would pinch it and give it to her friend Alan Galbraith (squeaky clean) to assign as legal fees