Legal, decent, honest and truthful…. Although complaints that ads are offensive are only a small proportion of those investigated by the ASA, the media coverage and criticism those investigations generate mean that it makes sense to ensure that ads don’t attract the wrong kind of attention.
The rule on offence is simple – ads 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 age; disability; gender; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; and sexual orientation. Compliance will be judged on the context, medium, audience, product and prevailing standards.
Judging how an individual ad is likely to be received can be challenging, especially if you’re wondering how it can be appropriately targeted so as not to offend. The Copy Advice team has looked at published ASA rulings and written guidance to help you avoid alienating audiences and stay out of trouble with the ASA.
Protected characteristics
As the rule says, advertisers need to be especially careful if they depict or refer to protected characteristics in advertising material: disability, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity. The ASA is also currently looking into the depiction of older people in ads so watch this space for future developments in that area.
Swearing
Expletives deleted! If an ad includes, or even indirectly refers to, some swear words, it’s likely to fall foul of the Code, but milder words are likely to be acceptable. Wondering ‘what the fudge…?’ our language guidance will help.
Death
No matter how sensitively it is handled, the topic of death nearly always generates complaints. The public tends to be more sympathetic if the depiction of death is relevant to the product (such as funeral homes, life insurance or smoke alarms) or the message (charity appeals) but care should always be taken.
Nudity
Nudity in ads always attracts attention, and a degree of it might be necessary if you’re advertising a related product, but it’s not always appropriate for children to see. This can be especially true if the ad uses sex to sell. Ads that go further and sexualise or objectify the models they feature are almost never acceptable under the Code.
Gender stereotypes
Stereotypes can also offend. In 2018, CAP announced the introduction of new rules on gender stereotyping in ads, and on 14 June 2019, Code rules 4.9 (CAP Code) and 4.14 (BCAP Code) were introduced. These rules state that ads ‘must not include gender stereotypes that are likely to cause harm, or serious or widespread offence’. This followed a review of gender stereotyping in ads by the ASA, which indicated that certain kinds of gender stereotypes can negatively reinforce how people think they should look and behave, and how others think they should look and behave, due to their gender, which may have harmful consequences for individuals and for society.
The rule is supported by additional guidance: Advertising Guidance on depicting gender stereotypes likely to cause harm or serious or widespread offence.
Racial and ethnic stereotyping
And in 2020 the ASA undertook research to establish whether racial and ethnic stereotyping in advertising might contribute to real-world harms and, if so, to what extent. In May 2023 CAP published guidance advising marketers how to avoid racial and ethnic stereotypes that are likely to cause harm or serious or widespread offence in advertising. This guidance draws on the conclusions of that research to set out a more detailed framework of principles describing specific types and treatments of stereotypes identified as having the potential to cause harm. It provides clarity and detail on factors the ASA is likely to consider when assessing complaints. Marketers should consult this guidance before featuring stereotypical depictions in ads.
If you find yourself waking the tightrope between offensive and engaging, the Copy Advice team is happy to advise on non-broadcast ads at any stage of development.
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