ASA Adjudications Snapshot - June 2010

This article provides a selection of the most interesting ASA adjudications from June and a summary of the key issues considered in the applications.

This month, the ASA gave particular consideration to the importance of substantiating claims, especially when making claims of an absolute nature. Interestingly, a common theme this month has been that edgier and riskier ads, which may potentially be construed as offensive by some, have been more leniently dealt with by the ASA. The approach adopted by the ASA in these cases has focused on considering the ads' context and style, along with the usual considerations of the advertiser's medium and target audience.

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This article provides a selection of the most interesting ASA adjudications from June and a summary of the key issues considered in the applications.

This month, the ASA gave particular consideration to the importance of substantiating claims, especially when making claims of an absolute nature. Interestingly, a common theme this month has been that edgier and riskier ads, which may potentially be construed as offensive by some, have been more leniently dealt with by the ASA. The approach adopted by the ASA in these cases has focused on considering the ads' context and style, along with the usual considerations of the advertiser's medium and target audience.

FOOD AND DRINK

1. Red Bull Company Ltd, 23 June 2010 (Red Bull ad considered 'whimsical' and unlikely to cause harm or offence)

2. Miller Brands (UK) Ltd, 30 June 2010 (alcohol ad unlikely to appeal to youth culture or promote drink driving)

3. Burger King Ltd, 2 June 2010 (ads which do not feature explicit swearing are unlikely to cause harm or offence)

   HEALTH AND BEAUTY

4. L'Oreal (UK) Ltd, 2 June 2010 (shampoo ad featuring natural hair extensions found not to be misleading)

5. Vitabiotics Ltd, 30 June 2010 (claims referring to medicinal conditions must be substantiated with robust and verifiable evidence)

   COMPARATIVE ADS

   6. Scottish Power Energy Retail Ltd, 16 June 2010 (the claim "Your bills are falling" found to be misleading)

7. Tesco Stores Ltd, 30 June 2010 (comparative ads between Supermarkets require clear and substantiated statements of fact)

8. Costa Ltd, 16 June 2010 (comparative ad sufficiently substantiated so not found to be misleading)

   OTHER

9. Vodafone Ltd, 16 June 2010 (the claim "can guarantee mobile signal" found likely to mislead)

10. Diesel (London) Ltd, 30 June 2010 (inappropriately targeted ads featuring provocative images)

    NON-COMMERCIAL

11. Department of Health t/a NHS, 2 June 2010 (health warnings against alcohol found not to be misleading)

12. Lush Retail Ltd, 16 June 2010 (ads and sales promotion campaigns against hunting unlikely to provoke violence)

    FOOD AND DRINK

1. Red Bull Company Ltd, 23 June 2010

   A video on demand (VOD) ad, for the energy drink Red Bull, appeared on Demand Five during the programmes 'Neighbours', 'Home and Away' and 'The Mentalist'. The ad was in the style of a cartoon and showed a young boy feeding pigs Red Bull by pouring two cans of it into their trough. He walked into a house and said "Please mum, I really really want to go to the Gentlemen's Club." His mother replied "When pigs fly young man." She then exclaimed "Oh my!" as pigs with wings flew past the kitchen window. The ad ended with the young boy watching a woman in fishnet stockings who danced on a podium and draped her feather boa over him. A voice-over stated "Red Bull gives you wings."

   Complaint/Decision

   The complainant challenged whether the ad was irresponsible and offensive because it showed a young child in a sexual situation.

   The ASA did not uphold the complaint. The ASA understood that, according to the information provided by Demand Five, 'Neighbours,' 'Home and Away' and 'The Mentalist' were not of particular appeal to children. The ASA considered that children were therefore unlikely to watch those same programmes on VOD and it would therefore be unlikely that children would have seen the ad.

   The ASA also considered that although the notion of a child asking to go to a Gentleman's Club, and then apparently attending one, was incongruous and slightly unsettling, the cartoon depiction and 'flying pigs' scenario rendered the ad unrealistic and too 'whimsical' to cause mental or moral harm to children.

   The ASA concluded that although the creative idea might be seen as a dubious one by some, the ad was unlikely to be seen as irresponsible or to cause serious harm or widespread offence.

   This decision highlights the readiness of the ASA to take a pragmatic approach on the question of serious harm or widespread offence and, in particular, the readiness to take into account the comical and animated nature of ads when deciding whether such ads could cause harm or offence. It was also relevant in this decision that the ads only appeared on VOD services, which, in the ASA's opinion, was a factor in deciding whether children would be exposed to the ad.

2. Miller Brands (UK) Ltd, 30 June 2010

   A poster for beer showed a Vespa scooter and a bottle of Peroni beer. The web address "peroniitaly.com" was included next to the bottle of beer and "drinkaware.co.uk" was stated in the bottom corner of the ad.

   Complaint/Decision

   The complainant challenged whether the ad was irresponsible, because it linked alcohol with youth culture and could promote drink driving.

   The ASA did not uphold the complaint. The ASA noted that the Vespa was not moving, the bottle of beer was not open and no one was shown to be drinking. The ASA did not consider that the appeal of the Vespa was especially linked to youth culture, and noted that the Peroni Bottle and moped were presented in isolation as symbols of classic Italian design. It therefore concluded that the ad did not link alcohol with youth culture or promote drink driving.

   This adjudication highlights the reasoning employed by the ASA when considering whether artistic visuals glamorise or promote alcohol. Although the message in this ad could have been construed as one which promoted or condoned drink driving, the ASA took a pragmatic view in light of the stylised approach used by Miller Brands.

3. Burger King Ltd, 2 June 2010

   Three posters showed various images of Burger King's products, next to text...