Lager complaints rejected

The television-standards watchdog turned down 130 complaints about a lager advertisement that poked fun at drought conditions in Africa.

The Fosters Ice advert showed a Bushman walking in barren fields before digging for a frog he planned to squeeze for moisture. The man's son, instead of pursuing such traditional ways of getting a drink, is seen going to a bar and getting a beer from a refrigerator. The complainants felt it was distasteful to treat drought and famine comically to sell beer. Some also felt the depiction of the old Bushman digging for a frog would encourage racist attitudes.

But the Independent Television Commission said most viewers would see the advertisement as a light-hearted pastiche and did not believe it would encourage racist beliefs.

- Paul McCann,

Media Correspondent