If it's not the bloody, it's the hell.
When British censors banned a controversial Tourism Australia ad campaign this month, they did so because it used the word "bloody" in the question: "So where the bloody hell are you?"
Now the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation says it won't run the ad during family programming because of the word "hell."
"It just shows you the different taste levels of audiences in various cultures," said CBC spokeswoman Ruth Ellen Soles.
" 'Hell' is a problem for us in terms of kids and family viewing. It comes under the category of 'taste' and in these situations we listen to what our audience tells us."
Britain's Broadcasting Advertising Clearance Centre initially ordered Tourism Australia to edit the word "bloody" out of its ads, but the ban was lifted over the weekend.
Tourism Australia also plans to air the ad in Canada. Last week, it submitted the commercials to the CBC and to Telecaster, which screens commercials before they appear on Canada's private broadcasters.
The CBC said the ad can run with the vast majority of its content, but not on the two programs it characterizes as "family" programming: Be The Creature and The Wonderful World of Disney, which air late Sunday afternoon. And it won't be allowed in family Easter specials.
"We've also told the agency that we'll be monitoring audience reaction and if we get a significant number of complaints, we'll rethink running it," Ms. Soles said.
The head of Telecaster said that although it has approved the ads, it will flag them to make sure individual broadcasters know they contain objectionable language.
"Those are words that we would generally have problems with. They're on our list of bad words because we don't want kids picking up on that," said Jim Patterson, president and chief executive officer of the Television Bureau of Canada, which runs Telecaster.
But Mr. Patterson said Telecaster doesn't have any problem with the phrase in the context of the commercial.
The ad shows a sequence of vignettes in which various Australians tell potential tourists how they've prepared the country for their arrival: "We've poured you a beer," "We've shampooed the camel," and "We've saved you a spot on the beach."
A bikini-clad model then asks potential tourists: "So where the bloody hell are you?"
"The idea is that this is the way Australians talk to each other when they have a barbecue. . . ." said Luke Jones, director of Canada for Tourism Australia.
"That's kind of the invitation we wanted to extend to our visitors as well."
Mr. Jones said Tourism Australia has doubled its marketing budget in Canada. He said the "bloody hell" ads will likely run in Canada later this month or in April.
A major marketing campaign, involving print and Internet advertising, will run next fall when Canadians are planning their winter vacations.
Should Canadians be offended by the slightly risqué phrase, they can complain to Advertising Standards Canada (ASC), which monitors advertising through a complaints-driven process.
"If we got a complaint we would certainly look at what kind of program and the time that the ad was running. If it was adult programming after 9 or 10 p.m., it might be looked at differently than if it was something earlier in the evening when families typically watch shows together," said Janet Feasby, a vice-president with ASC.
Tourism Australia plans to use the "bloody hell" slogan everywhere except Singapore, where local laws required it to be replaced with "Where are you?"
Australian Tourism Minister Fran Bailey initially rejected suggestions that the "bloody" phrase would offend some potential viewers, calling it "the great Australian adjective."
And Prime Minister John Howard was on the defensive because the campaign came weeks after he criticized the use of foul language on television.
"I think it is a colloquialism. It's not a word that is seen quite in the same category as other words that nobody ought to use in public or in the media or in advertisements," he said last month.
"I think watching that young girl walking up the beach . . . is a very attractive image and I don't think people will see that is in any way bad mannered; quite the reverse."
The campaign
Tourism Australia is using TV and print ads to ask potential visitors: "So where the bloody hell are you?"
The payoff
The controversy has led to millions of dollars worth of press coverage for the campaign, as thousands of Brits went to wherethebloodyhellareyou.com to see the banned ad.
The reaction
Australia: At home, critics said the risqué Australian slang could confuse foreigners more used to Paul Hogan's invitation to "throw another shrimp on the barbie."
Britain: Britain's television advertising regulator initially banned the ad because it used the term "bloody." The ban was lifted this weekend.
Canada: Canadian broadcasters say they will air the ad, but the CBC won't let it run during family programming because of the word "hell."