From CommsDay of 6 May 2026
This week’s CommsDay Story of the Week is from an article in Wednesday’s issue on the TPG Telecom TV ad that features comedian Ali Wong with an emu, apparently somewhere in the outback. Many (most?) of us may have seen it. This story is a bit different to the ones that we have been re-publishing. With other stories – such as the Senate review of the UOMO bill, the contention over coverage measures, claims and reporting, the valuation of mobile spectrum for upcoming spectrum allocation, the appropriate balance between co-regulation, self-regulation and direct regulation in 2026, the push-back on data centre investments, and so on – we are sure to see more coverage as events unfold and are reported in future articles. This week’s story concerns advertising, something in which most people claim a level of expertise or a sublime indifference. Unlike the other stories, we may not hear a lot more about this one – or the ad might reappear on our screens in an altered form. The article is well worth reading to find out what happens when there are complaints about ads, and about the effectiveness of review arrangements established by the advertising industry itself. Are you sceptical or hopeful? Read on…
Vodafone’s regional ad campaign breached “health & safety” guidelines finds panel
TPG Telecom’s Vodafone has been found to have breached advertising standards on health and safety grounds over a comedic TV advert, following complaints that it marginalised regional Australia and trivialised the cultural significance of emus.
The Ad Standards Community Panel found the advertisement breached section 2.6 of the Australian Association of National Advertisers Code of Ethics, which prohibits material contrary to prevailing community standards, including on health and safety.
The case, brought against TPG Telecom Limited, related 
to a television commercial featuring comedian Ali Wong in an outback setting, including the line “clearly, nothing’s out here” in the context of comparing network coverage strategies.
Ad Standards said complaints fell into three main categories. It said complainants argued the advertisement “makes light of the plight of people living in remote and rural communities” and “suggested that rural and remote areas of Australia are insignificant, and not worth any in vestment.”
It said other complainants argued the ad “trivialises their existence and their cultural attachment to remote or rural areas”, including in relation to First Nations communities, while separate complaints objected to the depiction of an emu as a “massive chicken” given its cultural significance.
In assessing the complaints under section 2.1 of the code, the panel said the advertisement could be interpreted as denying the “existence, value, and significance” of people in remote and regional areas, and acknowledged the framing “intersected with the lived realities of First Nations peoples.”
However, it found no breach of the discrimination provisions because the code applies to deigned attributes such as race or ethnicity, and the apparent discrimination in this case was based on geographic location.
The breach finding under section 2.6 centred on the role of telecommunications in safety and wellbeing. The panel found the advertisement “trivialised and dismissed the realities of living in regional and remote Australia, where telecommunications access can be critical to physical safety and general wellbeing.” It said the tone “undermined the importance of connectivity for people who rely on it for medical assistance, transport safety, and social participation.” It also said the advertisement risked “marginalising and devaluing entire communities” and contributing to a perception that people outside major cities “do not matter.”
In its response, Vodafone described the campaign as a “pro-competitive, comparative advertisement” intended to “mock competitors who charge premium pricing to cover large areas where its customers do not actually live.” The company said there was “no intent to reference or ridicule indigenous populations, or rural and remote areas of Australia” and that the ad was aimed at highlight ing pricing and coverage trade-offs.
Vodafone said it sought advice from a First Nations leader, who confirmed that “from a cultural perspective, the ad did not raise any concerns.”
On the emu reference, the company said the “massive chicken” line was consistent with Wong’s “brash and comedic style” and intended to portray her as “clueless” and unfamiliar with Australian wildlife, rather than to trivialise the animal or its cultural significance.
Vodafone said it would remove the phrase “clearly, nothing’s out here” and amend the closing line from “Get coverage where 98.5% of you actually live” to “Get coverage where 98.5% of you live.” The panel acknowledged Vodafone’s proposed amendments but said it was “not
convinced that these amendments would adequately remove the concerns raised”, given the advertisement’s overall tone.
Vodafone said the campaign had already concluded prior to the determination, and confirmed the advertisement had not been shown across free-to-air, video-on demand or online platforms since 18 April. The company also said the health and safety provision was not raised during the complaints process and that it did not have the opportunity to make substantive submissions on that aspect of the Code.
The Rural, Regional and Remote Communications Coalition said in March the campaign had “missed the mark”, describing it as “dismissive of the people, industries and communities beyond major cities, and those who rely on and travel through these regions”. The coalition said messaging suggesting there is “nothing out here” reflected a “metro-centric view of Australia” and ignored the reality that in rural and remote are as “reliable communications are not a luxury, but an essential service”
Grahame Lynch
IN TODAY’S COMMSDAY (Friday 8 May 2026)
A community group backed by the Teal independent movement has joined state Greens and Liberal MPs in calls for tighter controls on data centre development, as political and community concern intensifies over the concentration of hyperscale facilities in Sydney’s lower north shore.
STACK Infrastructure is considering options including a partial or full sale of its Asia operations in a deal that could value the business at more than US$30bn, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Superloop has pitched its proposed Lightning Broadband acquisition as a step-change in its attempt to build a scaled national fibre-to-the-premise challenger, using CFO Dean Tognella’s Macquarie Australia Conference presentation in Sydney yesterday to highlight the strategic value of private network infrastructure.
Telstra MVNO Boost Mobile is refreshing its line-up of pre-paid plans, including introducing a new $180 six-month SIM plan.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has taken action against two more telcos as part of its crackdown on compliance with mobile number fraud rules, with businesses paying more than $5m in penalties over the past 18 months.
Telstra said no AI is used in any communication with callers making emergency calls to Triple Zero or when the calls are transferred to the relevant emergency service organisation.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise has launched a new suite of autonomous networking capabilities across its HPE Mist and HPE Aruba Central platforms, with the company claiming to be the first provider offering fully autonomous, agentic AIOps networking.
New Zealand’s public safety communications entity currently known as the Next Generation Critical Communications Lead Entity said it will rebrand as SafetyNet Critical Communications from 1 July, following its exit from Police.
NVIDIA and Corning have forged a long-term partnership aimed at significantly expanding US-based manufacturing of optical networking solutions.
Plus more
_______________________________
CommsDay is published by Decisive Publishing, S704 6A Glen St Milsons Point NSW
ACN: 065 084960 Mailing Address: PO Box 490 Milsons Point NSW 1565 Australia
TO SUBMIT EDITORIAL FEEDBACK OR INQUIRIES: gr**********@**********il.com
TO ENQUIRE ABOUT A SUBSCRIPTION: vi***@**********il.com
