Watchdog bans anti-husband ads | When New Year countdowns go bad | Agency boss resigns over staff suicide | APN takeover | Top news bloopers of the year | Our best and worst ads of 2016

[View this email in your browser] [Mumbrella Newsletter] One month left to save on CommsCon tickets [Comms Con] [Mumbrella CommsCon] is Australia’s premier event for PR, social media and comms professionals. Delve into the big issues and topics this ever-changing industry is facing. Speakers have already been announced from Telstra, Cavill + Co, MultiConnexions, Weber Shandwick, The Remarkables and Bupa. Book before February 16 to [save $100 off your ticket]. News [Adland told by regulator: You can no longer vilify husbands] Husbands can no longer be portrayed negatively as a group, the Ad Standards Board has declared in a ruling which will have major implications for how male characters are scripted in future Australian advertising. Saying in a ruling against a WA pest control company that “this style of humour is no longer acceptable”, the ASB stated that community expectations have changed, and signalled that ads that were previously okay may now get banned. [READ MORE »] Dr Mumbo [Stop the search. The best worst minute of 2017 television has already been broadcast] Dr Mumbo has a feeling it’s going to be a good year. You see, the omens are excellent. When the worst minute of TV has already been broadcast before the New Year fireworks have even ended, the bar for television calamities has been set high. [READ MORE »] News [SBS's 'F*ck, That's Delicious' and 'CU in the NT' banned by ad watchdog; 'BCF-ing' fun is okay] The Ad Standards Board has cracked down on two advertising messages which allude to swearwords, banning a poster campaign for SBS’s new Viceland channel which features the word “F*ck” and also ruling against the “CU in the NT” Facebook page. However, a third campaign for outdoor store BCF, which uses the phrase “BCF-ing fun” has been cleared by the ad watchdog. [READ MORE »] [m360_600x90_seb-1] News [Dentsu boss resigns after suicide of overworked employee] The boss of one of the world’s biggest and oldest communications holding groups Dentsu has announced he will resign next month just 24 hours after the company was referred to prosecutors in Japan over the suicide of an employee. Dentsu chief executive Tadashi Ishii said in a press conference he felt “deep responsibility as a person for overseeing the management of the company”. [READ MORE »] News [McGrath Foundation reveals new branding from Hulsbosch] The McGrath Foundation has unveiled a new logo and branding to coincide with this week’s Sydney Pink Test. Created by design agency Hulsbosch, the rebrand is the first carried out by the anti breast cancer organisation. [READ MORE »] News [Supercheap Auto's race through Brisbane banned by ad watchdog] A big budget TV ad for Supercheap Auto featuring four wheel drive cars racing through the streets of Brisbane has been banned by the advertising watchdog because it promotes dangerous driving. The ad – to promote Supercheap Auto’s involvement in motor racing – fell foul of the Ad Standards Board because of city scenes featuring cars racing down the wrong side of the road and on pavements. [READ MORE »] [retail_speakers_600x90] Dr Mumbo [Remember when PVO got Thor mixed up with Ian Thorpe? And Turnbull's pig bitch?] Dr Mumbo has enjoyed participating in many end-of-year traditions over the last few days. But there have been none finer than watching the Dan News 2016 news blooper reel. [READ MORE »] News [Allianz brand shift tells drivers: Unlike some, we don't want you to lock your car in a garage] Insurer Allianz has dropped its “Ahhhh…llianz” line from its new brand campaign, instead encouraging owners to enjoy driving their cars. The new positioning also sees Allianz take what appears to be an oblique swipe at rival insurer Youi, which promotes cheaper insurance for owners who can demonstrate they lock up their vehicles and only drive short distances. [READ MORE »] News [News Corp completes takeover of APN's regional newspapers] News Corp has completed its purchase of APN News & Media’s regional newspapers portfolio. The deal sees 12 daily newspapers, 60 community titles and 30 websites based in regional Queensland and northern New South Wales shift into the hands of News Corp. The titles include the likes of The Sunshine Coast Daily, The Toowoomba Chronicle, The Daily Mercury in Mackay, The Warwick Daily news, the Morning Bulletin Rockhampton and the Tweed Daily News. [READ MORE »] [commscon_600x90] News [Online retailer slammed for promoting product that may increase cot death risk] An online shopping site has been censured for promoting sleeping practices with babies that go against guidelines on prevention of cot death. The Advertising Standards Board examined complaints after ads for an elephant shaped pillow for babies were served on Facebook to Australian consumers. [READ MORE »] Features [The Year in Review: 10 worst ads of 2016] Mumbrella looks back on 2016 advertising that is memorable for all the wrong reasons in this annual wrap-up. [READ MORE »] Features [The Year in Review: 10 best ads of 2016] There were some good ads over the course of 2016, but was it a stand-out year for the industry or did mediocrity reign? Mumbrella looks over the 10 best ads of the year and asks: could the industry have done better? [READ MORE »] Features [Year In Review: January - Angry vegans; death of Cleo; Agency's birthday burlesque] The year kicked off with with Lee Lin Chin at centre-stage, as the new ‘lambassador’ for the Meat & Livestock Australia Lamb campaign. [READ MORE »] [digital_school_600x90-2] Features [Year In Review: February - New TV channel; dangerous car ad; Mamamia's fake news] February kicked off with a bang when Clive Mathieson, editor of The Australian, resigned after five years, moving into a strategic advisory role in Mike Baird’s office. [READ MORE »] Features [Year In Review: March - Goodbye to Google's boss; Job cuts; Christopher Walken signs up for Qantas] It was a positive start for March, with Saatchi & Saatchi’s OPSM campaign named the most effective in the world by Warc[.] [READ MORE »] Features [Year In Review: April - 60 Minutes Beirut disaster; Famous axed; Best April Fools; New Bauer boss] April started the same as any year with the media industry seeing who exactly they could fool. Some of the favourite gags from this year were the ABC’s managing director Mark Scott’s appointment as the new Playschool host, the new and improved Pringles bag, Channel Ten’s The Bachelor: The Senior Years, and NFL start Jarryd Hayne’s signing with the Sydney Roosters. [READ MORE »] [600x90-1] Features [Year In Review: May - Shapemageddon; Fairfax upheavals; UM's worst week] May kicked off with consumers split by Arnott’s decision to change the recipes of its Shapes biscuits flavours. [READ MORE »] Features [Year in Review: June - Studio 10's s*x tape; Optus EPL backlash; Eddie McGuire's apology] Studio 10 was reprimanded by the Australian Communications and Media Authority on the first day of June, after the show aired still images of actor Rob Lowe’s s*x tape with an underage female. [READ MORE »] Features [Year In Review: July - Kevin Roberts' gender diversity gaffe; More Lions scam; Nine hires McCabe for digital gig] It was far from a slow start to the month of July, with Ikea announcing it would part with Match Media after 13 years. [READ MORE »] [cc_600x90_v2] Features [Year in Review: August - Bill Leak's backlash; Bauer's nightmare ABC audit; News Corp's profits plummet] The month kicked off with Fairfax splitting Domain Group from its financials in a move that was speculated to be so the publisher could maximise its revenues and share price. On the same day, Seven Network launched its 2016 Olympic Games mobile application. [READ MORE »] Features [Year In Review: September - Fake viral factory owns up; Rusciano's meltdown; Vale Michael Ball] September began with the world entranced by a viral video of a hawk dumping a snake on an unsuspecting family picnic. The terrors of Australian Fauna writ large. But it soon emerged that production shop The Woolshed Company was behind the hawk stunt to promote AFL team Hawthorne (aka The Hawks). [READ MORE »] Features [Year In Review: October - Qantas rebrand; Cuts at Yahoo!7; The rise of the introvert] If 2016 was the year in which diversity and gender equality (or lack of it) came to the fore in the media, marketing and advertising industries, then the opening of October exemplified this. [READ MORE »] [600x90] Features [Year in Review: November - Death of Dolly; Creative departures; News Corp redundancies; Dodgy Facebook metrics] It may have come as no great surprise, but the decision by Bauer Media to finally put Dolly magazine out of its misery still created a nostalgic outpouring from former staffers and readers. [READ MORE »] Features [Year in Review: December - Seven's scandal; Russel Howcroft's big move; Mag publishers kill audits] It was an eventful end to 2016, with machiavellian manoeuvrings by Australia’s magazine publishers; a big job change for Russel Howcroft and Seven’s boss mired in a scandal. When a titillating email was widely circulated to Australia’s media writers offering lurid information about an affair between Seven boss Tim Worner and a member of staff, it derailed what had been a strong year for the network. [READ MORE »] Features [The Year In Review: major media account moves of 2016] While 2015 was the year of the ‘mediapalooza’, 2016 has seen some big changes in the space. Mumbrella looks at some of the biggest pitches of the year. [READ MORE »] Sponsored Post Only a week left to grab your Retail Marketing Summit earlybird ticket [retail_edm_header-2] After the sold-out success of the first [Mumbrella Retail Marketing Summit], the country’s leading retail and FMCG brand owners and experts will converge to discuss the key issues impacting the industry in February. Book your earlybird ticket and hear from marketing and customer experience chiefs from Sainsbury’s, McDonald’s, Myer, Coles, Unilever, Jeanswest and Sportsgirl. [Book your ticket] by January 10 to save $100. FYI: • [Foxtel to fast-track Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds doco] Jobs [25 New Jobs] MOST DISCUSSED [Supercheap Auto's race through Brisbane banned by ad watchdog] [Dentsu boss resigns after suicide of overworked employee] [SBS's 'F*ck, That's Delicious' and 'CU in the NT' banned by ad watchdog; 'BCF-ing' fun is okay] [Adland told by regulator: You can no longer vilify husbands in ads] mumbrella.com.au Sent By Focal Attractions Pty Ltd 46-48 Balfour Street, Chippendale, NSW, 2008, Australia If you would rather not receive this newsletter, you can [unsubscribe or manage subscriptions here.] [unsubscribe]