Outcry over rugby advert at Melbourne Airport
A huge betting agency advertisement showing a wallaby having sex with a lion is causing controversy in Australia ahead of this weekend’s rugby game between the British and Irish Lions and the Australian Wallabies.
It has been painted in a field near Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport, and is designed to be visible to passengers on departing and arriving planes.
The 170-metre-by-90-metre image features the slogans "Rooting for the Wallabies" and Fairfax Media says the sign "threatens to reignite a debate about industry standards".
The first Test between Australia and the British and Irish Lions takes place in Brisbane on Saturday, followed by the second test in Melbourne the following Saturday and the third test in Sydney on July 6.
A spokesman for the bookmaker told Channel Nine TV in Australia that more than one million people would fly over the image in the next month.
He defended the ad, saying "what better way to get behind the Wallabies than to create a massive wallaby getting behind a lion?".
One radio broadcaster criticised the image, saying the advertisement "wasn’t a good look" and would not make a good first impression for tourists and children landing in Melbourne.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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