This is the famous "Cradle to the Grave" advert (for XBox). In its day it was banned - although I have no idea why.
The main character in the originally posted ad is in a wheelchair and has spasms and has sex and has a sense of humour about it all. I don't think the actress was offended by the ad. I think you were offended by the ad and I think it is perfectly OK for you to be. What's not OK, to my mind, is for you to be offended on behalf of "the disabled". You are both stereotyping and disempowering a widely varied group of individuals who, in general, are capable of being offended for themselves. Some may have felt offended and some not, just like some people on here felt offended and some not. I'm not having a go, really I'm not, but if you want to champion people with disabilities then do it by listening to them rather than making judgements on their behalf. I didn't find the ad particularly funny but I liked it because it embraced the girls disabilities while highlighting the fact that she's an ordinary young woman. I'd say it was noble if I didn't have a sneaking suspicion that the ad wouldn't have been made at all if they didn't think it would help sell Maltesers. But, fuck it, if it helps the general public to stop seeing a person's disability as their defining trait rather than just a facet then it's all good IMHO.
Camel is in the trade so maybe has a better insight but being the bro of a disabled sister, i wasnt offended and i doubt my sis would be either, what bothered me about the add was yet another reminder that everybody seems to be getting some bar me.
As many have stated, the disability really isn't the issue and shouldn't be an issue to anyone. She wasn't the butt of the joke or being made fun of in any way. She was simply sharing a funny experience that could have happened to anyone. As far as I was concerned, it was just 3 women talking. It was the fact that the talk was basically, "the other night I wanked this guy off" that didn't fit in with what an advert should be. Had this been in a comedy sketch show, fine, you know you're in for that kind of thing.
I wasn't actually offended. I'm just saying I didn't think it was funny and I can see how some (obviously not all) disabled people might find that dusturbing. I don't think anything is off the table for comedy - be it the holocaust or child rape. But I'm less cool with it if it's for an ad by a big company trying to sell product in any way they can, and I'm definitely gonna consider it a poor effort if it's not even funny.
I can't see the point of ads where you struggle to remember what is being advertised. Whether you think its funny or crass, if you get to the end and think what the hell was that about, someone's wasted an awful lot of money. The Malteser ads are in that category. They only just get away with it because the brand is so strong anyway. If it was anything less familiar it would just be pointless and rather lame little skit written by wannabe comedy writers. Annoying ads are counter-productive too. At least they are with me. I avoid a product which has irritated me. Not all publicity is good publicity.
