‘Monstrosity’: X-rated promo truck angers drivers in Melbourne

A digital billboard advertising a Melbourne brothel has outraged motorists by displaying obscene images on a 'blindingly' bright screen at peak hour.

Drive has spotted the vehicle twice, both times at around 8.30 in the morning on roads in and around the city's CBD, and displaying a rotating slideshow of explicit imagery.

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Other motorists have also sighted the vehicle at night, posting photos to Reddit with the question: "[I] was driving close to 12am behind this monstrosity, which felt blinding whenever we passed it. Is this legal?".

"Hurts my eyes looking at it in a photo while I have a 70 per cent blue light filter on my monitor. Couldn't imagine driving behind it," one user commented.

Another wrote: "They're distracting enough as a pedestrian, I couldn't imagine what it's like seeing one driving around. Also gross advertisements. Gives me 'Won't somebody please think of the children?' vibes, but actual.".

The vehicle is advertising Gotham City, a 24-hour brothel located in South Melbourne. The number plate is 'ISEEUU' and the vehicle appears to be owned and operated by South Melbourne-based marketing company I See You Media.

According to a VicRoads vehicle registration check, the white truck is registered until 2025.

Regardless of the content it's displaying, the mobile billboard risks potentially distracting other motorists.

Of course, the explicit imagery is also not well suited to peak hour, when many parents are conducting the school run with their children in the back seat.

When contacted by Drive, a Gotham City employee said: "I’m so excited you noticed and liked the advertisement on the truck. With saying this and the tone of your email, it is obviously clear you have no knowledge of Victorian road laws nor do you understand the law and right to advertise.  I’m not sure if your [sic] a qualified person to make any of those statements." 

The employee added: "Once again thank you and I trust your [sic] enjoy our promotion. Finally, I highly recommend  I see media should you wish to advertise your business. Have a lovely day and should you require our services please pop in."

A Victorian Department of Transport representative confirmed the vehicle was likely in contravention of the state's vehicle registration standards.

"Under our Vehicle Standards documentation, other than for exempt vehicles or vehicles otherwise allowed in the Standards for Registration, external visual displays with moving text or images are prohibited," the DoT spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added, "This is not an exempt vehicle".

In addition, the vehicle may also be at odds with Regulation 299 of the Victorian road rules, which states:

"A driver must not drive a vehicle that has a television receiver or visual display unit in or on the vehicle operating while the vehicle is moving, or is stationary but not parked if any part of the image on the screen is likely to distract another driver."

Meanwhile, an Ad Standards spokesperson told Drive while the watchdog hadn't received a complaint about the ad pictured in this story, it had previously found similar adverts in breach of its codes.

"We have previously received complaints about Gotham City mobile billboards. Complainants were concerned that the imagery in the advertising is overtly sexual and not appropriate for a broad audience. In late 2023, images that appeared in Gotham City advertising were found in breach of the code," an Ad Standards spokesperson said.

"We encourage anyone who is concerned about the content of an ad to lodge a complaint on the Ad Standards website. Just one complaint is enough to trigger an investigation."

In one of the complaints filed to Ad Standards in 2023, a complainant stated: "This was a full-screen scrolling video on a truck driving around the streets at 3:30 in the afternoon. I was on a bus with about 40 x 10-year-old children at the time coming back from a school excursion. It was basically displaying soft-porn images."

Drive has also approached I See You Media for comment and will update this story if and when a response is received.