A BACKLASH against rude, sexist and offensive slogans plastered across Wicked Campers could spell the end of the road for the rental company in northern NSW.
The bright artwork and “adults-only†references to sex and drug use splashed across the notorious budget camper vans have made them popular with backpackers and low-cost travellers, particularly in Byron Bay.
Offensive slogans sighted on the vans include “shaven not furredâ€, “two things smell like fish, only one of them is fishâ€, “camouflage condoms ... she’ll never see you cummingâ€, “get out ya tits and we’ll call it quits†and “a bl#w job a day beats an appleâ€.
The company proudly spruiks its wicked ways on its website, pointing to the campervans’ “killer paint job perfect for offending the elderlyâ€, “table assembled to certified bong chugging height†and large storage boxes to “hide victims and drugs†and encouraging customers to “scribble rude or inspiring messages on wallsâ€.
“We would hire unicorns but they’re very expensive so we just hire vans and cars. They come with paintjobs and without paintjobs and they even come with plenty of nooks and crannies to hide drugs, illegal immigrants and hostage politicians,†the website says.
Critics of the campers, who say the messages publicly insult and degrade members of the community, have called on the NSW and Queensland Governments to ban them.
The Splendour in the Grass music festival has asked punters to boycott Wicked Campers at this year’s sold-out event at North Byron Parklands in July.
“If you’re booking a campervan, please steer clear of sexist slogans! You know who you are. It’s 2016, get with the program,†the event website says.
Byron Shire councillor Duncan Dey wants council to write to NSW Premier Mike Baird and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to seek support to get the vans off the road.
Cr Dey has lodged a motion ahead of today’s council meeting (Thursday) calling for the “usually sexist†slogans to be wiped or for the vans to be banned from council caravan parks.
He said council could erect warning signs saying “Van drivers, your wicked slogan is not welcome in Byron Shireâ€.
“Councillors will have seen the Wicked slogans over the years. We were relieved at one stage by many of the vans being taken off the road when found unroadworthy. They seem to have then returned, with the slogans even more offensive than before,†Mr Dey said in the motion.
Ballina Shire councillor Robyn Hordern is also lobbying fellow councillors to join the push against the company.
Ms Hordern has lodged a motion ahead of today’s Ballina Shire Council meeting calling on council to write to state and federal ministers to ask them to support action or legislative changes to ban the “inappropriate messagesâ€.
†... the public display of these messages is often insulting and/or degrading to many members of our community,†she said in her motion.
However, NSW Premier Mike Baird yesterday rejected calls to wipe the slogans or ban the vans from council caravan parks.
“I haven’t seen the details ... but people sort of getting around in campervans enjoying the coast seems a pretty normal thing to be doing,†Mr Baird said.
“I don’t think it’s something that the state government should be getting involved in.â€
While the Advertising Standards Bureau has upheld dozens of complaints against Wicked Campers, the company has so far ignored most of its directions to remove offensive wording.
The Australian Christian Lobby is pushing the Queensland and NSW Governments to introduce legislation to Âimpose fines on businesses that flout ASB directions.
Wicked Campers was forced to apologise to Sydney mother Paula Orbea in 2014 when she launched a petition on change.org after her 11-year-old daughter saw a van with the slogan: “In every princess, there’s a little slut who wants to try it just once.â€
Wicked Campers director John Webb admitted the company had “crossed the line†and promised to remove “insensitive†slogans.
“As is often quoted: ‘A sense of humour is a sense of proportion’,†Mr Webb said in a statement at the time.
“And in this instance, we admit that we have taken things out of proportion and out of the realms of what is considered to be ‘socially acceptable’.â€