Clarke Gayford appears in an ad for Audible. Photo / YouTube, Audible
Clarke Gayford appears in an ad for Audible. Photo / YouTube, Audible
A television ad for Amazon audio books app, Audible, featuring Clarke Gayford and a stunt baby, has been banned in Australia following complaints from viewers.
Gayford appears in a scene folding washing with the baby attached to his front in a carrier. As he turns to the camera and says,"I may just be an average bloke, but Audible really takes the hassle out of housework", popular Australian comedian Celeste Barber appears on his couch, trying to work out why Gayford seems so familiar to her.
But it's not Gayford's scene that's sparked concern and led to the ad being banned from Australian television.
Comedian Celeste Barber raves about the joy of listening to an audio book during a workout session. Photo / Audible
While Barber espouses the brilliance of audio books in several scenarios, from the gym to driving with a car full of kids, it's her appearance in the fridge of Australian MasterChef contestant Poh Ling Yeow that saw complaints made by viewers.
The scene that raised concern among Australian viewers. Photo / Audible
Yeow is filmed preparing a meal in her kitchen and discovers Barber in her fridge with a piece of celery.
Yeow tells Barber she's cooking souffle and listening to Hemingway and closes the door on the comedian.
According to the Daily Mail, the scene received complaints from viewers who said that "young children seeing Celeste hiding in a fridge will think it's a fantastic hiding place for hide and seek".
Speaking to news outlet Mumbrella, an Audible spokesperson said: "We regret that this advertisement has sparked concern for a number of Australians, as we care deeply about the wellbeing of our community.
"When we received the notification from Ad Standards regarding this complaint, we immediately removed the advertisement from television.
"We have subsequently made the decision to modify this advertisement to remove the scene in question, and will look to run updated creative moving forward."
