Duffy bike advert sparks complaints: political correctness gone mad

Just came across this news article on msn and found it hilarious. Another classic example of political correctness gone mad. It seems like such a small matter has been blown completely out of proportion by the media. And they make it seem like WE have complained about it by saying that 18 viewers complained about it. Completely laughable.
news.uk.msn.com...

[edit on 17-6-2009 by SpaceMonkeys]

This so ridiculous that words escape me. Are people such pansies these days that they will complain about that?

Just when I thought human beings could not disappoint me any further, I learned that people like this exist...

what an absolute joke!

After investigating, the ASA did not uphold the complaints, noting the "fantasy context" and deciding that older children would understand cycling round a supermarket was not a realistic situation.

I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but she should've wore an helmet and not make the display that it's okay to bike without an well fitting helmet.

The medical system is stressed from kids and adults coming in the emergency room on stretchers suffering from serious head injuries because they didn't protect their heads.

I don't care about her biking through the supermarket. I care that she didn't use her helmet.

Safety is everybody's responsibility.

Grandma mode off.

I just can't believe how much of a joke this entire news article is. How can the writer of this article not find the words they are writing completely ridiculas?

That is not extreme advertising.

THIS is extreme advertising.

reply to post by Grey Magic


LOL!! The comments on that page are hilarious...

Comments
Paul B said: That's it?!?!? I've seen more risque behavior at a church bingo.

January 30, 2009 12:19 AM

Jake Kalish said: Well, it's still a commercial. There's not going to be anal.

reply to post by star in a jar


would you like them to make a law about it and fine people who dont where helmets? This is how public opinion is formed by the media.

Yes, we must legislate common sense...

I have never worn a cycle helmet, I used to cycle down big hills as a kid, go on the bmx course and all sorts, must we really wrap our children up in cotton wool so they go out into the world as adults, totally incapable of coping with it?

christ, I'm just angry at having to watch duffy, she makes me grind my teeth... special-faced mong.

reply to post by jokei


LOL, everytime I take my kids to the doctor she nags me about having them wear helmets. I always tell her we live by the rules of natural selection at our house. If you are too dumb to ride a bike without getting yourself killed then maybe you shoulnt be around to pass on your genes

Hilarious You have made me day with that . Rofl I still cant stop laughing.

But on a more serious note , well what do You expect in a society made mostly out of robots , they have been indoctrinated into safety rules(its for the children-- lol that line always gets me) and their "programing" will kick in if they see something "wrong"

Thats just how the USA works... And I might say , that 5% of people that rule the states are geniuses for creating the perfect obedient society of specialized robots for their pleasure .

No offense to anybody please , this is just how I view the states , after living there for some time

I wear a helmet when I go out for 30+ mile rides or when I'm mountain biking. I choose to wear a helmet. That's what free people do. Choose. The day a law is passed mandating I wear a helmet is the day I smash it into little bits and never wear one again.

reply to post by Anonymous Avatar


Speaking of censorship, they pulled the ad from u-tube. This is stupid beyond words.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


I completely agree.

I've never worn a bike helmet in my entire life, and I grew up on a bike from the time that I was like 3. I dont ride one anymore, but if I did I sure as hell wouldnt wear a bike helmet.....they are for dorks.

I used to bike all of the time, I learned to take a fall.
There were a couple of times where I wished I'd worn some padding, but I learned to pick myself up and keep going.

I understand that helmets make you safer, to a degree, but at the same time it's learning to ride responsibly that's important.

its also on bbc news. The link also has a video of the advert.
news.bbc.co.uk...

reply to post by grapesofraft


Totally agreed, kids do stupid stuff and learn the hard way. I was lucky enough to grow up in the countryside, so my friends and I went out down the woods on our bikes, seeing if we could cycle across fallen trees, doing jumps stuff like that, there were cuts, grazes, bruises and the occassional broken bone ~ my friend Gary still came out on his bike with a broken arm, he just hung out though, no tricks for him.

As we got older, we discovered the joys of burning stuff and fireworks, we learnt to respect fire ...of course we learnt this the hard way. There's so many stupid things I did as a kid that I wouldn't now, but I'm glad I did them, they were fun and valuable learning experiences.

reply to post by jokei


Exactly. Kids need room to fail. We cannot try to protect them from everything or they will never learn the relationship between choices/consequences, which we clearly see a lot of that missing knowledge in the world and on ATS.