'Inappropriate' Nike ad pulled

2004-08-16 13:17

Sydney - Sports manufacturer Nike withdrew an advert featuring young girls trying to impress a male tennis coach from Australian television on Monday after morals groups complained it trivialised paedophilia.

Nike Australia managing director Tony Balfour said the advert was inappropriate in Australia, where 10 days ago high-profile tennis coach Gavin Hopper was jailed for indecently assaulting a 14-year-old.

"We apologise to those who have been offended by the television commercial," Balfour said in a statement. "We now believe it was inappropriate for the commercial to be aired in Australia."

The advert, part of a global campaign designed to coincide with the Athens Olympics, features young girls vying for a tennis coach's on-court attention with the tagline: "You're faster than you think".

Australian Childhood Foundation chief executive Joe Tucci said the campaign's timing was unfortunate and the advert trivialised the experiences of young women who had been abused.

"I think it is probably insensitive at the moment to be showing this kind of ad in Australia considering the recent high-profile cases," he said. "One interpretation of it could be that the idea of sex between an adult and a young person is OK and that certainly is not the case."

Hopper, who had coached tennis stars Mark Philippoussis and Monica Seles, was jailed for three-and-a-half years over a sexual relationship with a schoolgirl at Melbourne's Wesley College 19 years ago.

- AFP