Background
Summary of Council decision:
Three issues were investigated of which two were Not upheld and one was Upheld.
Ad description
A banner ad, for www.MatureDatingUK.com, featured text which stated "mature dating uk ... Find the One Today on MatureDatingUK". The ad included a photograph of a woman sat on a chair wearing a short yellow dress and with her legs apart. One hand was placed on the inside of her left calf and one hand next to her crotch.
Issue
1. One complainant, who viewed the ad on their e-mail account home page, objected that it was offensive and overtly sexual.
2. One complainant, who viewed the ad on www.plentyoffish.com, objected that it was offensive and overtly sexual.
3. A further complainant, who viewed the ad on YouTube, objected that the ad was offensive, overtly sexual and unsuitable for an untargeted medium where it could be seen by children.
Response
1. & 2. Cupid acknowledged that the ad may be considered provocative, but believed it was not explicit in content. They therefore believed the ad was not likely to cause serious or widespread offence.
Mail.com did not provide a written response to our enquiries.
Plentyoffish Media said their site was for individuals of 18 years of age and above. They pointed out that the ad did not feature nudity and believed it was neither offensive nor overtly sexual. They confirmed that they had not received any complaints about the ad.
3. Cupid acknowledged that the ad could be viewed by children. However, they pointed out that children could view more explicit content on YouTube. They therefore believed the ad did not breach the Code on this point.
Google said the ad was set up by the advertiser using Google AdWords and pointed out that advertisers were required to comply with Google's AdWords advertising policies, as well as with applicable laws and regulations, including the CAP Code. They further said that the ad breached Google's policies and that they were taking action to have the ad removed.
Assessment
1. & 2. Not upheld
The ASA noted the ad showed the model in a short dress, with her legs apart and her hand placed over her crotch. The ad did not, however, include any explicit nudity and whilst we understood the ad might be viewed by some as sexually suggestive in nature, we considered it was not overtly sexual. Whilst we recognised that some people might find the ad distasteful, we considered the ad was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.
On this point, we investigated the ad under CAP Code (Edition 12) rule
4.1
4.1
Marketing communications must not contain anything that is likely to cause serious or widespread offence. Particular care must be taken to avoid causing offence on the grounds of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age. Compliance will be judged on the context, medium, audience, product and prevailing standards.
Marketing communications may be distasteful without necessarily breaching this rule. Marketers are urged to consider public sensitivities before using potentially offensive material.
The fact that a product is offensive to some people is not grounds for finding a marketing communication in breach of the Code.
(Harm and Offence) but did not find it in breach.
3. Upheld
As noted in points 1 & 2, above, we did not consider the ad to be overtly sexual in nature, however, we did consider the ad could be viewed as sexually suggestive. We therefore concluded that the ad was unsuitable for an untargeted medium where it could be seen by children.
On this point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
1.3
1.3
Marketing communications must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society.
(Social responsibility) and
4.1
4.1
Marketing communications must not contain anything that is likely to cause serious or widespread offence. Particular care must be taken to avoid causing offence on the grounds of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age. Compliance will be judged on the context, medium, audience, product and prevailing standards.
Marketing communications may be distasteful without necessarily breaching this rule. Marketers are urged to consider public sensitivities before using potentially offensive material.
The fact that a product is offensive to some people is not grounds for finding a marketing communication in breach of the Code.
(Harm and Offence).
Action
The ad must not appear again in untargeted media where it could be seen by children.
