The advertising industry’s regulatory body Ad Standards has upheld more than a dozen complaints about a Brisbane billboard depicting a handgun under a Christmas tree.

The billboard, advertising the weapons retailer Gun World Australia, was criticised by the Queensland police commissioner, Ian Stewart, last month. Alongside the image of the wrapped pistol are the words, “What’s under your tree this year?”

“I would like to see the billboard taken down,” Stewart told the ABC.

Ad Standards ruled the advertisement breached community standards on health and safety because there are strict rules about proper storage and handling of guns, and “the panel considered that this image is a depiction of material that would be contrary to law”.

“The panel considered that the product is legally allowed to be advertised ... and that there is not a prohibition on advertising firearms per se,” the Ad Standards ruling said.



“The panel noted that leaving a firearm unsecured or under a Christmas tree is incorrect storage of a firearm and is illegal.”

One complaint noted that the advertiser’s logo was an image of Australia and a target. They raised concerns that the billboard, placed on a main road through a predominantly migrant community on Brisbane’s southside, was a “racist” message and played into the rhetoric of protecting Australia. Ad Standards considered this complaint but found the billboard did not breach its standards on discrimination or vilification.

One of the complainants, Susan Cullinan, told Guardian Australia she had been appalled by the advertisement and welcomed the Ad Standards ruling.

“I saw [the billboard] as an attempt to normalise gun ownership and glamorise it. The only people who would benefit was the arms industry,” Cullinan said.

“I’m really proud of Australia’s arms restrictions and our culture. We need to fight commercial interests that are trying to relax the laws. We do need to continue to speak up just to avoid becoming like America.

“I was so encouraged by the number of other people who were shocked and took the time to complain.”

Gun World Australia was contacted for comment.

The business submitted to Ad Standards that its advertisement did not “depict any material country [sic] to prevailing community standards on health and safety”.

“Gun World does however support appropriately licensed members of the public engaging in safe, ethical hunting and the recreational use of firearms in Queensland.”

Ad Standards noted in a detailed published decision that Gun World Australia had not responded since the ruling.

“Ad Standards will continue to work with the advertiser and other industry bodies regarding this issue of non-compliance,” it said.

It is not the first time that Gun World Australia’s billboards have provoked controversy. In 2017 it used an image of a gun-toting woman dressed as Santa. The then-called Advertising Standards Bureau dismissed complaints that the image linked firearms sales with children, on the grounds that Santa appealed to all ages.

Guardian Australia reported in April that the business advertised the Victrix bolt-action rifle, which is classified in Australia for hunting and sport, but marketed in the US for military and law-enforcement uses.