Motorists are expressing outrage over brightly lit ads for a brothel being driven around the streets of a major city.
The truck-mounted billboards for Melbourne adult entertainment venue Gotham City feature raunchy images of women in lingerie and are so brightly lit that some drivers say they are dangerous.
They feature the captions: ‘Gotham City house of sin’ and ‘8 star luxury’.
Industry watchdog Ad Standards told the Herald Sun it had received five complaints about the images.
‘Complainants are concerned that the imagery is overtly sexual and not appropriate for a broad audience,’ a spokesperson said.
Melbourne motorists have been outraged by raunchy mobile billboard ads for a legalised brothel
‘The advertising has been assessed by Ad Standards as raising an issue under the AANA Code of Ethics. The Code of Ethics covers a range of issues including sex, sexuality and nudity.’
If the billboards are found to breach the code, Ad Standards will ask Gotham City to scrap or modify them.
However, if Gotham City refuses, Ad Standards can approach the media owner to ask they stop being displayed.
Social media users say they have spotted the ads on various arterial routes around Melbourne.
One described the ads as ‘basically pornography driving around Melbourne’ that ‘burned my retinas’.
Some said they had seen the ad being driven around school zones at around pick-up time or parked in local neighbourhoods.
It is not just the content of the ads that is upsetting drivers, with many saying the lighting is too dazzling.
Some motorists complain that the glare from the garishly lit ads could be a driving hazard
‘Was driving close to 12am behind this monstrosity, which felt blinding whenever we passed it,’ one driver said.
‘Hurts my eyes looking at it in a photo while I have a 70 per cent blue light filter on my monitor,’ another posted.
‘Couldn’t imagine driving behind it. I’d legit need my sunglasses on,’ another wrote.
One motorist said they had even reported the ads to police.
‘The police said they really wouldn’t follow up on a billboard that was too bright,’ she wrote.
A vehicle that displays lights that dazzle or ‘may dazzle another user’ can attract a fine up to $577.
Gotham City bills itself as a ‘multimillion-dollar complex’ and Melbourne’s only ‘eight-star brothel’
Gotham City bills itself as Melbourne’s only ‘eight-star brothel’, with the state having legalised prostitution in 1994.
The ‘multimillion-dollar complex’ is a 24-hour venue that offers a bar, lounge and accommodation facilities, with rates that start at $350 an hour.