Ad description
A TV ad for condoms, broadcast during the film ‘The Goonies’ at around 9.05 pm on Saturday 24 August, opened with a scene of a woman lying in a half-sunken boat which panned out to show her being caressed by a man. Both actors were clothed. The ad cut to show another woman holding a condom packet in her hand. A voice-over said, "Great sex is ... when it's so powerful you can't stop feeling the intensity all over." The woman in the boat then pushed the man partially underwater and a bottle of sexual lubricant was seen falling through the water. Various scenes then showed couples in sensual embraces in locations including the half-sunken boat, a corral and a crowded bar. A dog was shown picking up and running off with some underwear. The voice-over then said, "When great sex moves you, nothing else matters. Love sex." The same text appeared on-screen, along with pack shots of a selection of sexual health products.
The ad had been cleared by Clearcast with a post-9 pm scheduling restriction.
Issue
Three complainants challenged whether the ad was inappropriately scheduled, because it was shown during a film directed at or likely to appeal particularly to audiences below the age of 16.
Response
UK Gold Services Ltd t/a Watch, said when they considered the scheduling of the ad they complied with Clearcast's post-9 pm restriction and were mindful that condoms could not be advertised in or adjacent to programmes commissioned for, principally directed at or likely to appeal particularly to audiences below the age of ten. They said with that in mind, the ad was not inappropriate for children aged ten years or older because it contained no nudity or overt references to sexual activity and while it contained passionate embraces interjected with imagery of stampeding horses and boats filling with water, they considered the creative execution was intended to be an ironic statement that when someone was with the person they loved, all that was happening around was irrelevant and the ad conveyed the all consuming nature of love. They said the visuals were fantastical and overt in their exaggeration. They said the voice-over did not contain graphic language or descriptions of sexual intercourse. They also said the products advertised were not described and the ad featured brand images only.
Channel 4, which scheduled ads for Watch, said they undertook an assessment of the product and timing limitations. They said because the advertised product was for condoms, the ad would not have been shown pre-watershed and that any post-watershed breaks would have been considered in relation to audience demographics. They said that when deciding to place the ad within the film 'The Goonies', Channel 4 considered broadcasts of the film across the UKTV network and they supplied data for live and +1 channels ‒ 'the consolidated data'. They also provided rating analysis based on historical numbers that demonstrated the expected audience make-up would not have attracted 4- to 9-year-olds or older child audiences. They said the film had a British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) rating of 12 which suggested it should not be directed at children below the age of ten.
Assessment
Not upheld
The ASA considered the content and nature of the product meant that it was not suitable for young children. We therefore considered the post-9 pm scheduling restriction imposed by Clearcast was appropriate.
We acknowledged Watch's assertion that the ad was not overtly sexual. However, we noted that whilst the ad did not show nudity or sexual activity, it did contain scenes that showed couples in sensual embraces and had included one scene that showed a woman who sat on top of a man, which could be interpreted as alluding to sexual activity. We also considered that the tone of the voice-over heightened the sensual nature of the ad. We noted one scene featured a condom packet in an actor's hand which, in the overall context of the ad, we considered to be a clear reference to anticipated sexual activity.
We accepted that Watch had used the consolidated data and we considered that could be a reasonable practice when formulating data for forecasting purposes, particularly when audiences could be low. The consolidated data supplied included previous films broadcast at a similar time as ‘The Goonies’ and covered several months and days of the week, and we noted that that data showed that children in both the under and over ten age groups were not over-represented. We therefore considered that the broadcaster had taken diligent steps to predict the likely index scores. We also acknowledged that the broadcaster had taken into consideration the BBFC rating of the film as a likely indication of the age range of the audience.
Because the broadcaster had taken reasonable steps to ensure the ad was not broadcast in or adjacent to programmes commissioned for, principally directed at or likely to appeal particularly to audiences below the age of 10, we therefore concluded it was suitably scheduled.
We investigated the ad under BCAP rules
32.1
32.1
Broadcasters must exercise responsible judgement on the scheduling of advertisements and operate internal systems capable of identifying and avoiding unsuitable juxtapositions between advertising material and programmes, especially those that could distress or offend viewers or listeners.
(Scheduling of television and radio advertisements),
32.3
32.3
Relevant timing restrictions must be applied to advertisements that, through their content, might harm or distress children of particular ages or that are otherwise unsuitable for them.
(Under-16s),
32.6
32.6
These products may not be advertised in or adjacent to programmes commissioned for, principally directed at or likely to appeal particularly to children below the age of 10:
and
32.6.2
32.6.2
condoms.
(Under-10s), but did not find it in breach.
Action
No further action necessary.
