Australian ad showing cyclist wearing a helmet in Amsterdam amuses the Dutch
For most Australians, this Emirates advertisement at a Sydney bus stop would barely raise an eyelid.
A photo of the ad posted by Twitter user @BicycleAdagio shows a woman with a helmet, riding a bicycle along a bridge in Amsterdam with the tagline "Don't just visit it, live it. Navigate new paths in Europe."
Notice anything odd? The Dutch certainly did, the sight of a cyclist wearing a helmet became the source of ridicule in an article from the country's newspaper Het Parool last week.
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"If we believe the bus posters in Australia, we cycle here in Amsterdam well-behaved with a helmet on our heads," according to a rough Google translation of the article.
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The original photo was tracked down by Twitter user @MartinWolley, which turns out to be a stock image from Getty Images. Lo and behold, the original image has *gasp* the woman without the helmet.
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Well, it appears the image has been photoshopped in order to conform to Australia's advertising guidelines. So what's the big deal?
Australia is one of the few countries in the world to have mandatory helmet laws for cyclists, in place since the early 1990s to prevent serious head injuries. The other countries to pick up mandatory helmet laws for cyclists of all-ages are neighbouring New Zealand and a handful of states and jurisdictions in the U.S. -- some of which only require children to wear one.
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In Sydney, not wearing a helmet is an expensive mistake: Fines were upped to A$319 (US$234) for cyclists caught without a helmet back in March. When people don't wear helmets in ads, people have also complained.
An Advertising Standards Board (ASB) spokesperson told Mashable Australia that complaints would be treated under the board's health and safety code of ethics.
In a previous case, a complaint over a fitness advertisement showing two cyclists not wearing helmets was upheld by the ASB, resulting in the company editing the offending footage out of the commercial.
For those familiar with the Netherlands, the country is arguably one of the most bicycle-friendly countries in the world. Helmets are not compulsory or even considered as an appropriate safety measure. The only people to wear helmets are likely to be tourists or expats, who then risk looks of bewilderment from the locals.
Emirates has found themselves in trouble before. A 2008 ad with a woman without a helmet holding a baguette "sends the message to its viewers that reckless behaviour with a total disregard for safety is endorsed by Emirates," according to the original complaint to the ASB.
Try telling that to the Dutch.
UPDATE: June 28, 2016, 2:05 p.m. AEST An Emirates spokesperson told Mashable Australia via email that it modified the advertisement to comply with Australian advertising codes and standards: "In this Australian advertisement, Emirates digitally altered an image of a cyclist in Amsterdam and added a helmet to the cyclist to ensure that this image depicts proper road safety rules for cyclists, as per Australian Road Rules."
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated Malta required all cyclists to wear helmets, when in fact it is only required for power-assisted bicycles and children under 10 years of age.
[h/t Executive Style]
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