Australian footwear distributor Accent Group has responded to a complaint over its recent TV advertisement promoting The Athlete’s Foot.
The ad in question features children in a school yard playing sport and games. A child's voice-over says "This goes out to the class of 2025, beating the bell, raising hell, out of the box, out of the blocks, run to fit in or, run to stand out. Hitting the track, the heels are back. The Athletes foot, fit for every run."
A complainant raised concerns with Ad Standards, saying that a lot of children who live below the poverty line cannot afford these shoes, and could mean that some children may be less accepted when returning to school.
Accent Group responded to the complaint in an Ad Standards Community Panel, stating it is acutely aware of its responsibility to the community in relation to the standard of its advertising, “and as such we take any complaints we receive very seriously.”
“The advertisement is part of a Back-to-School campaign being promoted by The Athlete’s Foot, which is a brand owned by the Accent Group. The advertisement is intended to be a call to action to visit The Athlete’s Foot rather than a call to buy any particular brand or product.”
The footwear group added that the advertisement is not directly targeted to children, with the intended audience being parents aged 25 to 54 with school aged children.
The TV ad was shown across free-to-air TV in both regional and metro areas during news programs, sporting events, peak programming and morning shows, and at Val Morgan Cinemas nationally at the start of family friendly films.
“The advertisement is a multi-branded and cross category advertisement promoting a range of school, athletic and sports shoes for kids return to school. It does not promote a particular brand or product. It is intended to be a call to action to visit The Athlete’s Foot.”
“The Athlete’s Foot has a wide range of products at varying price points and the advertisement does not make any claims that the products in store are affordable to every family.”
An Ad Standards Community Panel dismissed the case in the end, stating that the product would not have significant appeal to children, and the content of the advertisement was not “principally” appealing to children, while audiences for the advertisement would not include a significant proportion of children.
“The Panel therefore found that the advertisement did not target children and the provisions of the Children’s Code do not apply.”