Oz MP condemns ‘Be a man and… Hold Your Load!’ billboard

BRISBANE - A sexual health company’s billboard stating “Be a man and… Hold Your Load!” has become the centre of a controversy after a federal MP condemned it as being offensive.

The Advanced Medical Institute had displayed the sign on Fairfield Road, Tennyson, but Brisbane federal Member Moreton Graham Perrett said he was concerned children were being exposed to inappropriate advertising.

However, AMI general manager Tony Kahn said he believed children would not be able to comprehend the message of the sign, and has defended its right to advertise in a public space.

“A lot of people, they wouldn’t understand what ‘hold your load’ means. Children wouldn’t have any clue. It’s only for adults to understand,” the Brisbane Times quoted him as saying.

Kahn said the slogan’s “provocative” message was necessary to attract attention to the issue of premature ejaculation.

Perrett said he believed billboards and advertisements should only portray messages that would be discussed in “polite conversation”.

He said self-regulation of the industry was not working and he was pushing for a parliamentary review of advertising standards.

In his speech Perrett suggested electronic billboards could provide the opportunity for adult material to be advertised at night, preventing children from being exposed to offensive messages.

“I want to put out there the idea that we need to reclaim our public spaces. We have lots of weeks here - we have Liver Week, Mental Health Week,” he said.

“I think we need to have a ‘Back to middle-class values week’ where we reclaim public spaces,” he added. (ANI)