A COMPLAINT about a television ad for one of Victoria's biggest plant retailers has been dismissed by the Advertising Standards Board.
The ad for Chris and Marie's Plant Farms, features an apparently naked Chris Lucas holding a strategically positioned pot as he says ''nude up with neighbours-be-gone trees''.
The complainant commented that their nine and 12-year-old daughters were ''grossed out by this old naked man'' and described it as an ad more suited to selling pornography than plants.
In their defence, Chris and Marie Lucas, who are well-known for their offbeat advertising - many ads feature Chris prancing about in a pink tutu - said the ad in question was to promote specials from the business's Echuca, Bendigo and Shepparton stores.
The nudity was implied and no more skin was shown than would be common at the local beach or swimming pool, they said.
In its ruling, the board found the nudity was not sexually suggestive and was clearly intended to be cheeky and humorous.
"Most members of the community would find it either funny or silly,'' the board said.
The board also found use of the terms ''nude up'' and ''bare-rooted'' were not inappropriate in the context of the ad.
