Ashes stunt escapes prosecution

Published: 26 November, 2010
by JOSH LOEB

AUSTRALIAN cricket’s governing body has escaped prosecution after it projected an image onto Big Ben as a part of a stunt ahead of the Ashes

City Hall threatened legal action after the guerrilla advertising campaign by Cricket Australia in which images of Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke were projected onto the landmark alongside the slogan: “Don’t forget to pack the urn, bringontheashes.com”.

At the time, the council’s deputy leader, Councillor Robert Davis, branded the stunt “inappropriate and insulting”, but this week he announced that Cricket Australia would not have to face the courts as it had given an undertaking not carry out a similar campaign again.

Cllr Davis said: “It would not be in the public interest to pursue legal action on this occasion, but I hope it serves as a warning to all organisations, as next time we will not be inclined to be so lenient.

“While I accept that Cricket Australia’s stunt was supposed to be in good humour, it really is no excuse for breaking the laws of the land, nor for abusing a Unesco World Heritage site in this way.”