An Energy Watch commercial deemed too racist for television has taken the title of Australia's most hated TV ad for 2011, according to the Advertising Standards Bureau.
The video, marketing an "energy umpire" service, was taken off the air in August after receiving 75 complaints for portraying an Indian man as a potentially untrustworthy door-to-door salesman.
On average, the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) would usually receive fewer than 12 complaints about an ad, chief executive Fiona Jolly told ninemsn.
In a case study of the Energy Watch commercial, published on the ASB website, it was revealed one person complained: "If it is acceptable for blue-eyed white people to blow a whistle and show Asians a red card then Hitler will indeed be proud."
A waxing ad for Essential Beauty salons, which told the storybook tale of 'Mary Huff' and her need for a bikini wax, received the second highest number of complaints for the year, while an "over-sexed" Supre ad came in third.
WATCH AD: 'Mary Huff' ad offends viewers
The Essential Beauty ad received 44 complaints for switching the first letters of words to create phrases such as "ducking filemma" and "midy tuff" and referring to oral sex, but the Advertising Standards Bureau dismissed claims that it was too inappropriate.
"This is just disgusting. To play this advertisement in prime time television with barely any attempt to disguise what they are describing. My 12-year-old daughter asked what it meant when some ones boyfriend "went down". Just ridiculous," one person complained to the ASB.
The "Get Jegged at Supre" campaign, depicting a woman in the tight pants and exposed midriff dancing provocatively, was also deemed suitable for TV despite 27 complaints it was over-sexualising a product aimed at teenagers.
WATCH AD: Supre commercial among Australia's most hated
"In the Board’s view the advertisement predominantly depicts a young woman who is wearing the product advertised. While it is possible to attribute a sexualised context to the advertisement, in the Board’s view most people would view the young woman as dancing and enjoying the freedom of movement that the product permits," the bureau ruled.
Ms Jolly told ninemsn the three ads had received a particularly high number of complaints, but any ad that was complained about was investigated.
"Most years there are one to two ads that receive a high number of complaints," she said. "But the average amount of complaints is usually less than a dozen."
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