A major billboard company won’t be running a new state government campaign that gets people to ask Aboriginal people controversial questions. Ironically, there are concerns they could breach the advertising standards around racial vilification.

The Deadly Questions campaign was launched by the Victorian Government as “an opportunity to dispel myths” and give non-Aboriginal people a safe space to ask uncomfortable questions without fear of looking racist.

Some of the questions include “are you less Aboriginal if you’re fair-skinned?” and “do you prefer Indigenous or Aboriginal?”. The questions are then answered by well-known Aboriginal Victorians, including rapper Briggs.

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But advertising company APN Outdoor was advised by the Advertising Standards Bureau that two of the seven billboards could breach their advertising standards. However, another company oOH! Media will run the billboards.

The Deadly Questions campaign was designed as part of Victoria’s consultations with its Aboriginal communities as part of its treaty negotiations.

The Victorian Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Natalie Hutchins has criticised the decision.

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Whatsapp An image of the Deadly Questions billboard.

“I’m disappointed by APN’s decision and this unfortunately proves why we need to have a campaign like Deadly Questions,” she said in a statement to Hack.

“We need our media outlets to get onboard and support Aboriginal Victorians instead of dictating to them what is and isn’t offensive.”

However, APN Outdoors says when they informed the advertising agency who created the campaign that some of the billboards might breach the standards, the agency cancelled the bookings with APN.

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APN Outdoor Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, James Warburton, said:

“When the ads in question were submitted to us, we referred them to the Outdoor Media Association which in turn referred them to the Advertising Standards Bureau, which is usual practice. The ASB advised that two of the ads might be in breach of the industry’s code of ethics. This information was conveyed to the agency that created the ads.”

If you want to ask a question, you can head here: https://deadlyquestions.vic.gov.au/