Wizard can bash the bishop!

The Wizard of Christchurch has won backing for promoting the “official demolition of Bishop Victoria at the Big Rally”.

The popular Christchurch icon placed a spoof newspaper advertisement highlighting his opposition to the Anglican Church, in particular at its leader, the Bishop of Christchurch, the Rt Rev Victoria Matthews, who had been vocal in supporting the demolition of cathedral.

The advertisement was:“The Wizard’s Demolition Order for the Anglican Bishop of Christchurch.”

“I have examined the Bishop’s foundations and discovered they are built on sand. She is in a very dangerous state, being seriously cracked, and I can see no evidence she can be made safe.

"Even if it were possible, there would be no point restoring her as she is dull and bland as her beloved cardboard cathedral,” it said.

However, complainant P Carell disputed the satirical nature of the advert, including a section where the Wizard accused the bishop of “hating and despising” the people of Christchurch. Thus, it was misleading and untrue.

However, the Advertisement Standards Authority said the Wizard was a well-known public figure expressing his “robust” opinions. This was “advocacy” advertising and thus did not breach guidelines.

The ASA judgment noted the "demolition order" was “a dark play on words that was in keeping with the context of the issue of the demolition of the demolition of the cathedral”.

The advert might have offended some, but it was within a “humorous and hyperbolic manner which was in keeping with the Wizard’s persona and such humour was provided for under Basic Principle 6 of the Code of Advertising”.

There were no grounds to proceed with the complaint.

In other decisions released today:

# Sky TV can make reference to a character saying “I’ve got to keep up with the latest fashions” even though Sky TV does not offer the Fashion Channel.

The judgment said the advertisement was not misleading, as the comments did not specify a particular programme or channel. There were no grounds to proceed with the complaint from N Miller.

# Swanndri New Zealand can show a website advertisement showing a man carrying a sheep while riding a motorbike, and not even wear a helmet while on his bike.

The ASA accepted complainant M Beckett was sincere in her concerns about the welfare of the sheep, but farmers do this, so the ad was not breaching social responsibility guidelines. 

# Specsavers was also backed for showing a naked man in the kitchen with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey.

Complainant A George was offended at the man being totally naked and said the same impact could have been made if the man wasn’t shown below the waist.

However, the ASA felt the naked man was not too gratuitous, as the ad featured a pun “he won’t wear anything else”.