Ad description
A digital billboard ad for JOYclub, an online sex community, seen in November 2022, in various outdoor locations featured two men and three women lying on top of each other, wearing minimal clothing. At the centre of the image was a woman wearing nipple covers and high cut knickers, exposing her crotch, with each of her legs being held apart by the two men. Large text superimposed in front of the face and body of one of the women said “Explore. Connect. Meet. Play”. At the bottom of the ad, there was a QR code accompanied by smaller text that stated "Explore your kinky side, connect in a safe, respectful space, meet new people and play out your wildest desires".
Issue
Three complainants, who believed the ad was overtly sexual, challenged whether the ad was offensive and whether it was irresponsibly targeted because it was displayed in a medium where children could see it.
Response
F&P GmbH did not respond to the ASA’s enquiries.
London Lites, the media site owner, acknowledged the complaint.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA was concerned by F&P GmbH’s lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.7 1.7 Any unreasonable delay in responding to the ASA's enquiries will normally be considered a breach of the Code. (Unreasonable delay). We reminded them of their responsibility to provide a response to our enquiries and told them to do so in the future. The ad was displayed in various outdoor locations in London, which were untargeted media and where the image was likely to be seen by children and adults.
The ad featured a group of men and women lying on top of each other wearing minimal clothing and the woman at the centre of the image was exposing her crotch, with her legs spread apart by the two men. The text stated “Explore your kinky side […] play out your wildest desires”. We considered that the positioning of the individuals was likely to be understood as suggestive of group sexual activity. Taking the image of the sexual positioning and the centre woman’s exposed crotch, combined with the references to “your kinky side” and “your wildest desires”, we considered that the ad was overtly sexual.
We concluded that, because the ad was overtly sexual and was displayed in an untargeted medium where it had the potential to be seen by a large number of people, including children, it was likely to cause serious or widespread offence and was irresponsible. We concluded that the ad was unsuitable for outdoor display and therefore breached the Code.
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: 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.
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 outdoor advertising. We told F&P GmbH to ensure that their advertising was suitably targeted and to exercise caution when preparing ads for display in outdoor space.
We referred the matter to CAP’s Compliance team.
