Note: This advice is given by the CAP Executive about non-broadcast advertising. It does not constitute legal advice. It does not bind CAP, CAP advisory panels or the Advertising Standards Authority.
Rule 4.1 of the Code states that marketing communications must not contain anything that is likely to cause serious or widespread offence and identifies race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability and age as requiring special sensitivity. It also states that marketing communications will be judged on where and when they appeared, who they were likely to be seen by, the product being advertised and the prevailing standards of decency. Rule 4.1 acknowledges that marcoms might be distasteful without necessarily causing serious or widespread offence.
Although they account for around 20% of the ASA's work, complaints about taste and decency are often the most high profile. Upheld decisions can result in widespread adverse publicity for the company concerned and marketers could be made to pre-vet all posters for two years if they publish an offensive poster.
The ASA takes into account the media in which a marketing communication appears. What is acceptable in magazines with a broad-minded (and relevant) audience might not be acceptable on posters that are untargeted. Marketers can go some way towards avoiding causing serious or widespread offence by ensuring that they use a suitable, targeted medium to reach the right audience. The ASA has upheld complaints against posters with the headline "SO WHERE THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU?" although it had judged earlier that the same claim was acceptable in national and regional press ads; the claim’s acceptability depended on the media in which it appeared (Australian Tourist Board, 17 May 2006 and 28 March 2007).
Conversely, the ASA has rejected complaints about ads that were in closely targeted media and might have been considered offensive in other media. For example, ads that feature sexual innuendo and semi-naked women appearing in fashion magazines, or ”lads’ mags” with similar editorial content, are likely to be considered differently from the same ad appearing in a mainstream, family magazine (DK Motorcycle Group, 19 December 2007; Tom Ford Beauty, 19 December 2007, and Able Fare Ltd, 14 November 2007). Similarly, adult chat or text services ads showing men or women undressed and in sexual poses are much more likely to be acceptable if they appear in media targeted at adults and not in magazines where they might be seen by children (Rayshield Ltd, Chaos Network, and Digital Daze, July 2007 and Red Circle Technologies Ltd, 7 November 2007). Marketers should be mindful that, although careful targeting is key to avoiding offence, some ads are unlikely to be acceptable in any media, for example ads for T-shirts with claims like "9 OUT OF 10 WOMEN ARE BATTERED AND I’M STILL EATIN’ MINE PLAIN!" or material that is both sexually explicit and offensive (Shock Horror Ltd, 25 February 2004, Chrisfuckinjones.com, 31 October 2007).. See ‘Sexual Violence’ and ‘Taste and Decency: Language’.
Although society seems to be getting more tolerant of nudity, some things generate more complaints than before. For example, because of growing sensitivity, the depiction of children in ads needs to be handled with special care. In 2007, the ASA upheld complaints about a children’s fashion catalogue that included a young girl on all fours and the caption “A gentleman should never keep a lady waiting …” and a girl laying on the back seat of a car with the caption “Not to be violated …” (no added sugar Ltd, 7 February 2007). A year later it upheld a complaint about a young woman posing as a provocative schoolgirl (Ryanair Ltd, 30 January 2008). Marketers should take care when either featuring or targeting children. See ‘Taste and Decency: Children’.
Another topic that needs to be handled carefully is the depiction of violence. Even if the image is relevant to, or reflects the content of the product (for example, video games or horror films), excessive violence can cause serious offence. High profile incidents of aggression can heighten society’s sensitivity (Entertainment Film Distributors Ltd, 21 November 2007). See ‘Sexual Violence’ and ‘Violence and Anti-social behaviour’.
Because of the difficulty judging religious offence, CAP has issued a Help Note on Religious Offence. It highlights factors marketers should consider when using religious imagery or placing ads close to places of worship. Marketers should be especially wary of mocking minority faiths, central tenets of religion and the tone and totality of the ad. See ‘Taste and Decency: Religion’.
Charities are sometimes allowed a little more leeway than commercial companies. A direct mailing that described the sexual exploitation and gang rape of children was accused of offending a recipient. Although the targeting was wrong in the complainant’s circumstance, the ASA acknowledged that the content was relevant the subject matter (Barnardo’s, 20 February 2008).
Rule 4.1 recognises that some people might be offended by the product, irrespective of how it is advertised. The Code allows for products such as sanitary products, condoms and erotic literature to be advertised but marketers still need to be aware that the nature of the product might generate complaints, especially if marcoms are poorly targeted. An ad, for the morning-after pill, generated nearly 200 complaints when it appeared shortly before Christmas with the headline “Immaculate contraception? If only …”. The ASA considered that a play on the Immaculate Conception, a core tenet of the Catholic faith, was likely to offend, especially in an ad for a contraceptive product (Schering Health Care Ltd, 22 December 2004).
See other entries on ‘Taste and Decency’.
Last modified : 06 August 2010