Exclusive interview with Sean Buckley – Ultra Tune Executive Director, discussing life at Ultra Tune, exclusive behind the scenes and plans for the future. How did Sean Buckley get Mike Tyson to shoot an ad with Ultra Tune? How did losing everything in the 1980s effect Sean Buckley? How did he start the business? Find out in this exclusive interview.
A really interesting look at Ultra Tune and discussion with Sean Buckley about the company and the notorious television campaigns. Lots of fun clips from advertising campaigns, interviews with close friends and business partners.
Numerous complaints to the ad watchdog about sexism, sexualisation and the promotion of convicted rapist Mike Tyson in Ultra Tune’s latest ad have been dismissed.
In a detailed response to the complaints, the brand said: “The advertisements do not promote nor endorse any sexual harassment, or assault. He [Tyson] has been punished for his crime committed over 25 years ago in accordance with the law.”
A majority of the complaints featured in the Advertising Standards Board’s ruling focussed on the inclusion of Tyson, who was convicted of rape in 1992.
In response, Ultra Tune said it takes its responsibilities – including the AANA Code of Ethics – very seriously and noted the brand “agrees sexual harassment, assault and rape has no place in our society”.
“However, we note that Mr Tyson served his punishment, publicly acknowledged his deep regret and remorse for that period in his life, and has re-joined society. Since that time, he has rebuilt his career as a celebrity personality.”
It also noted: “Our use of Mr Tyson does not promote his convictions nor condone sexual harassment in any way.”
The advertiser went on to detail its view that the ad could not be found to vilify, humiliate or ridicule women because “the advertisements are clearly designed to be hyper-realisatic and comedic”, noting “a road incident can happen to any person, regardless of gender.”
Ultra Tune also refuted the claim the ad exploits or degrades women, arguing: “At all times the female actors are fully clothed in fancy dress clothing. The fancy dress clothing was used to reinforce the comedic aspect of the advertisement. Their clothing is clearly not the focus of the advertisement.”
The Board also didn’t take issue with the women’s attire, saying it is consistent with Hen’s parties or costume parties. It said the women’s appearance was “sexy, [but] their behaviour is not sexualised”.
It also again noted the “hyper-real” nature of the advertisements, which in its view, ensured the community would not take safety pointers from the women’s actions: “The Board considered that the fantasy nature of the advertisement, the likelihood of a tiger appearing in the street, and the fact the vehicle was shown to crash all amounted to an overall impression that would be unlikely to suggest or condone swerving to avoid an animal on the road.”
The Board thus dismissed all the complaints against Ultra Tune’s ad.
Ultra Tune Business Development Manager Rod Cedaro told an audience at Mumbrella’s Automotive Summit, “The empowerment there was they [the women] actually were forward-thinking enough to actually exit the car”.
“We don’t see a problem with the ad, we get very very good cut through with the ads,” Rod Cedaro noted, drawing attention to the fact only one complaint to the Ad Standards Board was upheld and contending it was only “banned on a technicality”.
The “technicality” was the implication the women died once being hit by the train.
The ad was then re-cut to show the women walking away from the accident.
“Servicing a car isn’t the most engaging thing you could do and the fact that I am sitting here, talking to you about the ads and Kmart’s not, probably shows that we are getting a bit more cut through,” the national marketing manager noted.
“I don’t want to berate Kmart, but who remembers a Kmart ad versus Jean Claude Van Damme?
“All of our ads are designed to get cut through, are they controversial? Yes and no,” he continued.
“You have got a choice and year-on-year 19% growth would suggest we are getting the cut through from the ads.
“I look at Ultra Tune these days as really a marketing company that happens to service cars.”
Sean Buckley and Ultra Tune are pleased to launch the 2nd ad in our “Unexpected Situations” series which features our very own Rod Cedaro as well as our Ultra Tune ambassadors Laura Lydall and Parnia Porsche. It was a heavy day of filming for the Ultra Tune team down in Point Addis, with a specially branded helicopter! The team had a lot of fun highlighting the potential pitfalls of unexpected situations on the road! Ultra Tune provides comprehensive roadside assistance, 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year on most vehicles. Providing assistance for things such as mechanical breakdown where our aim is to get you going – or if this is not possible – arrange for it to be towed to a repairer. We won’t leave you stranded.
