Investigation Report No. 2989
ACMA file reference / ACMA2013/297Licensee / Network TEN (Melbourne) Pty Ltd
Station / ATV (ELEVEN), Melbourne
Type of Service / Commercial Broadcasting Service (Television)
Name of Program / Snog Marry Avoid? (program promotion)
Date of Broadcast / 29 January 2013
Relevant Legislation/Code / Broadcasting Services Act 1992
- Section 149
- Clause 2.4 (Classification of Other Material)
- Clause 3.9 (Restrictions in PG programs in Certain Time Periods)
- Appendix 4 (Television Classification Guidelines – PG classification)
- 3.3 Language
- Appendix 6(Multi-Channel Appendix)
Investigation conclusion
- No breach of clause 2.4 (Classification of Other Material)of the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice 2010.
- No breach of clause 3.9 (Restrictions in PG Programs in Certain Time Periods)of the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice 2010.
The complaints
On 18 and 21 February 2013, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) received twoseparate written complaintsabout a promotion for the program Snog Marry Avoid?(Complainant One and Complainant Two respectively). The program promotion was broadcast by Network TEN (Melbourne) Pty Ltd (ATV) on its multichannel service ELEVEN,at 7.06 pm on Tuesday 29 January 2013.
Each complainant alleged that the promotion contained inappropriate coarse language.
Not satisfied with the response provided by the licensee, the complainants each forwarded the matter to the ACMA for investigation.
The program
Snog Marry Avoid? is a reality television program which is described by the licensee in the following terms:
Snog Marry Avoid? challenges young women who like to overdo their appearance by offering them a “make-under”. The women agree to a new look which is more understated but which better reflects the kind of person they want to be. The program helps women shed the image they have imposed upon themselves.[1]
Complainant One referenceda broadcast time and date –approximately 7.00 pm on Tuesday 29January 2013. Complainant Two stated that theprogram promotion was broadcast ‘regularly’. For the purposes of this investigation, the 29 January 2013 broadcast has been assessed. The promotion was broadcast during the PG-classified program Everybody Loves Raymond that was broadcast in a PG classification zone under Appendix 6 of the Code.
Assessment
The assessment is based on a copy of the relevant broadcast provided to the ACMA by the licensee, as well as submissions from the complainants and the licensee.
Relevant Provisions
The Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice 2010 (the Code) contains the following provisions that are relevant in the matter raised by the complainants:
SECTION 2: CLASSIFICATION
[…]
Classification of Other Material
2.4All other material for broadcast: Subject to Clauses 2.3 and 2.4.1, all other material for broadcast must be classified according to the Television Classification Guidelines (set out in Appendix 4) or, where applicable, the stricter requirements of Section 3: Program Promotions and Section 6: Classification and Placement of Commercials.
[…]
SECTION 3: PROGRAM PROMOTIONS
[…]
Restrictions in PG Programs in Certain Time Periods
3.9Special restrictions apply to the content of program promotions in PG programs broadcast between 7.00pm and 8.30pm on weekdays and between 10.00am and 8.30pm on weekends. All such program promotions must comply with the PG classification requirements set out in paragraph 3 in Appendix 4 and in addition must include no material that involves any of the following:
3.9.1the use of guns, other weapons or dangerous objects against people or animals in the foreground;
3.9.2violence against people or animals which has more than a very mild impact;
3.9.3action sequences which include obvious loss of life;
3.9.4close-up vision of dead or seriously wounded people;
3.9.5any visual depiction of suicide or intended means of suicide;
3.9.6sexual behaviour other than a very restrained kind;
3.9.7visual depiction of nudity, other than a very restrained or incidental nature;
3.9.8coarse language, other than of a very mild nature;
3.9.9anything which has more than a mild sense of threat or menace.
[…]
APPENDIX 4: TELEVISION CLASSIFICATION GUIDELINES
[…]
The Parental Guidance Recommended (PG) Classification
3.Material classified PG may contain careful presentations of adult themes or concepts but must be mild in impact and remain suitable for children to watch with supervision.
[…]
3.3Language:Low-level coarse language may only be used infrequently, when justified by the story line or program context.
[…]
APPENDIX 6: MULTI-CHANNEL APPENDIX
3: Classification Zones
3.1 The following classification zones apply to all material required to be classified on alicensee’s multi-channel (whether under the National Classification Board Guidelines forthe Classification of Film and Computer Games or the Television ClassificationGuidelines).
Parental guidance recommended (PG) classification zones
3.2 The PG classification zones are:
Weekdays (schooldays) 5am - 12noon
3pm - 8.30pm
Weekdays(school holidays)5am - 8:30pm
Weekends5am - 8:30pm
Complainants’ submissions
The ACMA received two complaints regarding the program promotion. Both complainants submitted that the use of the term ‘OMFG’ in the promotion was highly offensive, particularly as it has a reference to God.
Licensee’s submissions
In correspondence toComplainant One, dated 14 February 2013, the licensee submitted[2]:
[…] the promotion briefly depicts the acronym OMFG in text. The colloquial acronym is an implied verbal reference involving coarse language but is not in the aforementioned form considered to be unsuitable for the PG classification. The acronym is not referred to verbally, nor is the full meaning of the acronym conveyed visually or verbally.
Given the absence of any coarse language, we consider the promotion was mild in impact and suitable for broadcast in accordance with the PG timezone. The promotion was light-hearted and not intended to be taken seriously, further mitigating its impact.
[…]
Finding
The ACMA finds that Network TEN (Melbourne) Pty Ltd, in broadcasting a promotion for the program Snog Marry Avoid? at 7.06 pm on 29 January 2013, did not breach clause 2.4 and clause 3.9 of the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice 2010.
Reasons
Program promotions broadcast during PG programs between 7.00 pm and 8.30 pm on weekdays must comply with the PG classification requirements (set out in Appendix 4), as well as the more stringent requirements set out at clause 3.9 of the Code. There must be no ‘coarse language, other than of a very mild nature’ and it may only be used infrequently, when justified by the story line or program context.
The program promotion identified by the complainants consists of a number of excerpts of footage from the program Snog Marry Avoid? accompanied by a male voiceover.
At 12 seconds, a female is depicted sitting on a bed covered in hot pink and leopard print sheets. She appears to be wearing fake tan and noticeable makeup. She states, ‘So, I’m 19 and I love myself’. As she speaks, the letters ‘O’, ‘M’, ‘F’ and ‘G’ appearon the screen one by one in large textuntil the acronym ‘OMFG’ is visible.
The term ‘OMFG’ is a commonly used acronym for the phrase, ‘Oh my fucking God’.
The term is only used once, appearing on screen as text only, for no more than one second within a promotion 20 seconds in duration. It is not accompanied by a verbal reference or any explanation. The term is considered to be sufficiently ambiguous and likely to pass over the understanding of a younger audience. Given the context in which the term was used, it can be explained to a younger audience without reference to coarse language.
The term is used in a comedic way to lightly mock the confident attitude and over-the-top dress sense of one of the female participants in the program. The light-hearted manner in which it is used mitigates its impact and it is considered justified by context.
For these reasons, the single instance of implied coarse language in the promotion is considered to be very mild in nature, infrequent and justified by context.
ACMA Investigation Report – Snog Marry Avoid? (program promotion)broadcast by ATVon 29January2013 1
[1] As described in the licensee’s correspondence to the complainants dated 14 and 15 February 2013 respectively.
[2]Complainant Two received a similar response from the licensee on 15 February 2013.