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Aussie retailer's light-hearted commerical showing a man eating a bat sandwich is attacked by wowsers who demand it is banned - so do you think it's funny?

Australian camping retailer BCF has found itself in hot water after making a light-hearted coronavirus joke featuring a man eating a bat in their latest advertisement.

Wowsers have complained to watchdog Ad Standards about the promotion which is designed to show how lucky people are to be stuck in an Australian summer for the pandemic, and not overseas.

The ad shows footage of an Australian family having fun camping, fishing, visiting waterholes, and bushwalking.

It's spliced with shots of how awful it is for their  inlaws overseas in a -17C eastern European winter, or suffering lockdowns in Britain and the US.

The ad then shows a couple fishing.

'Shazza's a bit upset that somebody ate a bat,' the cheeky song goes.

Shazza's partner takes a huge bite out of a bat sandwich with the bat wing dangling out.

The ad campaign shows a family enjoying the great outdoors stuck in an Austalian summer during the coronavirus pandemic

The ad campaign shows a family enjoying the great outdoors stuck in an Austalian summer during the coronavirus pandemic

One Nostradamus on social media predicted complaints would soon fly - and they did

One Nostradamus on social media predicted complaints would soon fly - and they did

The ad compares life outdoors in Australia with the nasty cold winters and lockdowns overseas

The ad compares life outdoors in Australia with the nasty cold winters and lockdowns overseas

The joke refers to the belief that the coronavirus pandemic began from bats - eaten as a delicacy in some areas of China  - and jumping to humans at a Wuhan wet market.

The ad has had more than 238,000 views on YouTube since it was uploaded on December 11. 

The cheeky pitch has also been shown on TV - with the bat sequence edited out.

It only takes one written complaint to Ad Standards to initiate a formal complaint, compelling the organisation to investigate.

But it appears more than one person has complained about the BCF ad's joke.   

'A number of complaints have been received about this ad, which will be assessed to determine if the concerns raise issues under the advertising Codes,' an Ad Standards spokeswoman told The Daily Telegraph newspaper.

Daily Mail Australia does not know the substance of the complaints, or how many people complained.

BCF cracks a coronavirus joke with a man eating a bat sandwich, with some deeming it too soon for covid humour?

BCF cracks a coronavirus joke with a man eating a bat sandwich, with some deeming it too soon for covid humour?

Many people loved the ad, voicing their support on social media

Many people loved the ad, voicing their support on social media

Bats at the Tomohon Extreme Meat market, Indonesia. Bats are eaten across Asia. The coronavirus was first thought to have jumped from bats to people at a Wuhan wet market

Bats at the Tomohon Extreme Meat market, Indonesia. Bats are eaten across Asia. The coronavirus was first thought to have jumped from bats to people at a Wuhan wet market

But social media was awash with support for the irreverent humour on Sunday.

 'So bloody funny,' wrote one woman on FaceBook. 

'Just waiting for the Dudley do rights to find something to complain about, keep up the good work,' wrote a man whose prediction proved to be correct.

On YouTube the support for the ad was nearly unanimous - and some users were angry the bat bit was edited from TV.

Do you think the BCF ad is wrong for coronavirus joking about someone eating a bat?

Do you think the BCF ad is wrong for coronavirus joking about someone eating a bat?

Do you think the BCF ad is wrong for coronavirus joking about someone eating a bat?

Now share your opinion

'They just edited the Shazza and the bat bit during the cricket LoL that was the best bit,' wrote one man. 

'Imagine the person eating the bat sandwich was Chinese. I bet the Chinese government would not be happy,' wrote another.

BCF has said it had a tradition of irreverent campaigns in the spirit of 'good-natured fun'.

The outdoors chain said its ad campaign was encouraging Aussies to explore their amazing country. 

One Nation's NSW leader Mark Latham said he loved the ad which was good for tourism, called the watchdog the 'Advertising Politburo' for investigating, and told them to 'get a life'.

'And anyway, maybe someone did eat a bat sandwich.' 

More than 3,400 complaints about 369 ads were made to Ad Standards in 2020.

The only upheld about 18 per cent of cases investigated in 2020, it said on its website.

The most complained about ad in 2020, with 315 complaints, was the Ultra Tune Australia TV ad that featured Pamela Anderson and Warwick Capper in a Baywatch-style theme.

Hundreds of people complained about discrimination and vilification, that it was exploitative or degrading, and bout sex and nudity - but the complaints were dismissed. 

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