Can a real estate agent protect you from biker gangs?

In the advertisement, a parade of tattooed motorcyclists rumbles onto the driveway of a freshly sold home to hand the horrified new owner his leather vest. Welcome to the Satan's Undertakers!

It is, after all, their territory. Didn't his real estate agent tell him? Oh, he didn't use one — too bad.

The ad ends with the words: "The largest transaction of your life deserves the expertise of a Realtor."

It was clearly meant as a joke. 

But Advertising Standards Canada isn't laughing. The agency's standards council has reprimanded the Canadian Real Estate Association for misleading advertising.

"Council recognized that the commercial was intended to make the public aware that Realtors in general possess expertise that ordinary buyers do not," the decision says.

"However, Council found that this execution over-promised what a buyer's Realtor customarily delivers, and, therefore, was misleading."

The real estate association disagrees with the council's logic.

"We're a bit puzzled, frankly," said Randall McCauley, vice-president of government and public relations.

"In one sense, they admit that the ad makes sense, and then in another sense they sort of say, 'well, we don't think it does.' And that conclusion is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the business."

The council says the ad is obviously meant to be humorous and was meant to suggest a buyer using a real estate agent is better protected because of the agent's intimate knowledge.

But the decision says "there was no evidence that both buyers' and sellers' agents assume the same degree of responsibility to become thoroughly knowledgeable about the social or less desirable aspects of the neighbourhood."

McCauley says real estate agents don't train to work only for one side or the other.

"It just doesn't make sense: the nature of their business is they work with both buyers and sellers," he said.

"You can't be an expert one day and know a lot of information and then the next day, just because who you're representing changes, you all of a sudden don't know anything."

Polar bears, penguins, Realtors

Besides McCauley says — they were having fun.

He likens the advertisement to ones in which polar bears are seen drinking Coca Cola or penguins are opening bank accounts.

"I don't think they're saying that polar bears are (actually) drinking Coke; I think they're probably saying the larger truth is that Coke is so refreshing, it can satisfy in any situation," McCauley said.

"We're basically saying the same thing. There's humour there, but there's a larger truth in that there's certain expertise and knowledge that comes from working in the field."

Council vice-president Janet Feasby says advertisers found in contravention of the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards are requested to amend or withdraw the offending ad.

Feasby says she understood the ad is no longer airing.

But McCauley says they still plan to air the ad in the fall. And they won't be changing it.

He says the council and the real estate association have "agreed to disagree."

"It may be a subjective decision. It's not an objective decision, and in fact we don't think it's accurate," he said.

"And so we will be continuing to show the ad."