Sports stars feature in controversial 'Australia Day' ad

Cathy Freeman, Adam Gilchrist and Wendell Sailor all make cameos in what is being tipped as one of the most controversial Australia Day ads yet.

The gold medallist, cricket legend and dual international rugby league and union star all feature in the ad's celebratory barbecue with patrons from different backgrounds and cultures.

Freeman asks the cook: "What's the occasion?" to which he replies: "Do we need one?"

Gilchrist brings the stumps for a game of cricket while Sailor happily chomps away on some lamb.

However the ad campaign has been hit with a wave of controversy just hours after its release for failing to mention Australia Day.

While the ad is intended to portray lamb as the most multicultural meat, many viewers were offended at the absence of the words "Australia Day" and the implication that all Australians are boat people.

Facebook users labelled the ad "disrespectful".

"How can an Australia Day ad, not even mention the words "Australia Day!" that it self is disrespectful to our national holiday," one user wrote.

"Why not mention Australia day or is being Australian offensive to some people?" a man asked.

"No we are NOT all boat people. I was born here so by no definition of the word am I a 'boat person'. If a boat person has a child who is born here then the child is not one either. What an offensive garbage ad," another man wrote.

While the ad did gain applause from a wide audience, another user pointed out that the only people who should really be offended are Tasmanians, who were left off the map at the end of the commercial.