A cougar on the prowl proved too wild Down Under.
Australia's Advertising Standards Board banned an ad for older-woman/younger-man dating site CougarLife.com over "acts of violence," news.com.au reported.
In the spot (watch above), adult film actress Julia Ann shoves a sandwich into a younger woman's face and appears to push another youthful female patron to the ground at a bar. Most of the latter happens off-camera, but we see french fries fly and hear glass shatter.
The commercial is played for laughs, but the ad watchdog said some viewers weren't laughing, so the group took action to bar it from TV, the Australian news site noted. While some members of the board opined the ad was harmless in its over-the-top humor, the majority decided it was offensive to suggest that older women could take better care of younger men. It also declared the spot highlighted unacceptable behavior in a public setting such as a bar, according to a statement published by the Australian news site.
It wasn't the first time this stalking cat appeared to get caged. CougarLife said the Television Bureau of Canada barred the ad, but the bureau explained the commercial had been placed in a "pending" file and "several potential solutions" had been offered to CougarLife, according to Metro.
Julia Ann cried censorship on CougarLife's blog during the Canadian dispute.
"I wouldn’t be surprised if the real reason the ad has been banned is because they don’t agree with the premise behind the brand, or maybe even because I’m a porn star," she said.
Do you think this CougarLife ad should be tamed?
UPDATE: A spokesperson for CougarLife in Australia wrote the following to The Huffington Post:
"While we appreciate the work the ASB does in responding to requests from the public on complaints regarding TV advertising, the specific decision made in the case of our particular ad we feel is too harsh. There are currently many examples on Free-to-Air TV of comedic violence, particularly so in beer and alcohol advertisements, and we believe that our organisation is being unfairly treated when compared to these."