Background
Summary of Council decision:
Three issues were investigated, all of which were Not upheld.
Ad description
Three posters promoted the opening of a new beauty section in a department store. Each poster showed a woman about to kiss her mirror image. Text stated "LOVE THYSELF".
Issue
The ASA received 17 complaints:
1. Nine complainants challenged whether the ads were offensive, irresponsible and unsuitable for untargeted display where they might be viewed by children, because they appeared to portray a lesbian kiss;
2. Ten complainants challenged whether the ads were offensive, irresponsible and unsuitable for untargeted display where they might be viewed by children, because they were sexually explicit;
3. Two complainants challenged whether the phrase "LOVE THYSELF", combined with the images in the ads, was offensive on religious grounds.
Response
1. Harvey Nichols Group Ltd (Harvey Nichols) pointed out that the ads did not depict a lesbian kiss but rather a woman kissing herself. They stated that that was clear not only because the woman was the same on each side of the image, with the same styling and make-up, but also from the text "LOVE THYSEF", which they described as being prominent and unambiguous.
They disagreed with the notion that a lesbian kiss might be deemed offensive, irresponsible and unsuitable for untargeted display where the ads might be viewed by children. They stated that the advertising industry should be in the vanguard of those promoting and supporting the equalities espoused by anti-discrimination laws, including those concerning sexual orientation. They noted that several mainstream prime-time television programmes now incorporated both heterosexual and homosexual characters into their storylines.
2. Harvey Nichols said they did not believe that an image of the same person, or of two people, on the brink of kissing could be regarded as sexually explicit and therefore capable of causing widespread offence.
3. Harvey Nichols stated that at no stage in the development of the ad campaign was any religious reference intended and they did not believe that any would be generally inferred. They said they chose "LOVE THYSELF" as a phrase because the use of Old English seemed more assertive and resonant than the Modern English alternative "LOVE YOURSELF", which was in keeping with the tenor of the campaign.
In response to points 1, 2 and 3, JCDecaux stated that they had agreed to run the advertising as it appeared to show a mirror image of the model, reflecting the sense of the text "LOVE THYSELF". They said that was in keeping with the Harvey Nichols brand style, and confirmed they had not received any complaints about the ads.
Primesight also stated that, in their view, the ads depicted the same person as a reflection in a mirror, and said the fact that they showed only one person was reinforced by the "LOVE THYSELF" headline. The pointed out that the context of the ads was to promote three floors of beauty products at Harvey Nichols, with the emphasis on making people feel so good that they would want to kiss themselves. They confirmed they had not received any complaints about the ads.
Assessment
1. Not upheld
The ASA noted that each of the three ads showed an image of a woman leaning in to kiss her mirror image, rather than another woman. We considered that, particularly because of the identical styling of the model in each ad and the text "LOVE THYSELF", the content was sufficiently clear and was unlikely to be widely misunderstood.
We acknowledged that some complainants had interpreted the posters differently and had understood them to depict a lesbian kiss. One person also mentioned a young child who had not identified that the kiss was between one woman and her mirror image. Although we recognised that some people might have found what they perceived to be a portrayal of a lesbian kiss distasteful, we considered that a reference to homosexuality in an ad would be unlikely in itself to cause widespread or serious offence or constitute irresponsible advertising.
Because we considered that it was sufficiently clear that the posters showed one woman about to kiss her mirror image, and because we also considered that they were unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence even if interpreted differently, we concluded that the ads were not offensive, irresponsible or unsuitable for untargeted display because they appeared to portray a lesbian kiss.
On that point, we investigated the ads under CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
1.3
1.3
Marketing communications must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society.
(Responsible advertising) 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) but did not find them in breach.
2. Not upheld
We noted that close-up images of models' faces were common methods of advertising beauty products, and that the emphasis in each of the ads was on the styling of the model. In addition, the text "LOVE THYSELF" was prominent because of its size and position on the posters. We therefore considered that the aim of the ad, to promote the beauty department of a well-known department store, was clear and that the images used were consistent with that message.
The posters showed close-up shots of the face of a woman leaning in to kiss her mirror image; in each instance her lips were slightly parted but the faces were not touching. We noted that no nudity was shown and the poses were not provocative. We therefore concluded that the ads were not sexually explicit and were consequently not offensive, irresponsible or unsuitable for untargeted display.
On that point, we investigated the ads under CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
1.3
1.3
Marketing communications must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society.
(Responsible advertising) 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) but did not find them in breach.
3. Not upheld
We noted that the words "LOVE THYSELF" bore some similarity to the bible verse "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" and understood that, if that association was made, the ads could be seen to distort a religious message for commercial means. However, in our view the text "LOVE THYSELF" was not so strongly linked to the most central tenets of the Christian faith as to be widely interpreted as mocking the sacred elements of that religion. We also noted that "LOVE THYSELF" was not a direct biblical quote, and for that reason considered that it was not exclusively associated with Christianity. Given the absence of any other imagery or references which could carry religious meaning in the ads, we concluded that, in the context of an ad promoting a store's beauty department, the phrase "LOVE THYSELF", combined with the images of a woman about to kiss her mirror image, was not offensive on religious grounds.
On that point, we investigated the ads under CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
1.3
1.3
Marketing communications must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society.
(Responsible advertising) 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) but did not find them in breach.
Action
No further action necessary.
