Background
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Upheld.
Ad description
An in-game ad for the mobile app game AI Persona: AI Talk AI Friend, seen in the mobile app game Tower War – Tactical Conquest on 2 July 2024, featured a video with text which stated, “Download AI Persona see what they say!” It featured an image of a female character with bare shoulders and in the background were tiles of images of female characters all with large breasts posing in lingerie or tight revealing clothing. One animated image depicted a female character with a very youthful appearance, dressed in a tight shirt and mini skirt. Beneath the image text stated, “CREATE AI CHARACTER” with the “STUDENT” option highlighted. Another image depicted a female character with a stethoscope around her neck with the text “NURSE” highlighted. Some of the other female characters were depicted as “STEPMOTHER” or “STEPMOM” and were posing in a suggestive manner, with one featuring text which stated, “ROLEPLAY WITH AI STEPMOM”. Another image featured a screenshot of a text chat on a mobile phone sent by “Stepmom” which stated, “Your dad is away for a while…What are you going to do?” The reply stated, “I guess you can show me something in your room [winking face emoji]”.
Issue
- The complainant, who believed the ad sexualised and objectified women, challenged whether the ad was harmful, offensive and irresponsible.
- They also challenged whether the ad portrayed someone who seemed to be under 18 in a sexual way.
Response
1. & 2. Metamind AI Ltd t/a AI Persona: AI Talk AI Friend said that prior to being notified of the complaint, they were informed by the advertising network AppLovin about an issue with their ads. They conducted a detailed investigation and found that a small independent channel used what they considered to be vulgar content which they had reported to various media platforms. They subsequently blocked all advertising operations with the channel and had terminated their relationship with them. They also suspended ads in the UK and said they aimed to follow the regulations and policies of the countries they operated in to provide users with safe and compliant products and services.
AppLovin Corporation, the ad network that served the ad, said their terms of use included content restrictions which prohibited ads that could be considered explicit or offensive, among other prohibited categories. Advertisers agreed that their ads would comply with those requirements and all applicable laws and regulations. AppLovin also made clear that non-compliance would result in ads being blocked and/or a ban of advertisers’ AppLovin accounts.They said upon receiving notification of the complaint, they contacted the advertiser to confirm that the ad would not be re-used or re-served through the AppLovin platform, and they reminded the advertiser about their policies concerning ads.
Assessment
We were concerned by Metamind AI Ltd's failure to provide their geographical business address, which was a breach of CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.7.1 (Compliance). We reminded them of their responsibility to provide this information to the ASA or CAP without delay if requested.
1. Upheld
The ad, which was for a game app, showed different AI characters who were described as “Student”, “Stepmother”, “Career Women” or “Nurse” that could be used. It featured only female characters, all of whom had very large breasts, wore tight clothing and were posing in a manner which accentuated the top half of their bodies. The female characters described as “Stepmother” were portrayed as having a flirtatious manner either through their appearance or pose. One image in the ad showed text messages on a mobile phone with the name “Stepmom” at the top of the phone screen. It stated, “Your dad is away for a while… What are you going to do?” The reply was, “I guess you can show me something in your room” with a winking face emoji.
We considered that viewers would understand that the text messages were between the stepmother character and her stepchild and would interpret their interaction as being sexually suggestive. Given the ad’s reference to the father being away, we considered the implication of the messages was that the stepchild was having a relationship of a sexual nature with their stepmother.
We considered that the ad used tropes from pornography to portray the female characters as sexual objects which objectified and stereotyped them. Because the ad included harmful gender stereotypes and was likely to cause serious offence, we therefore concluded that the ad was irresponsible and breached the Code.
On that point the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 1.3 (Social responsibility), 4.1 and 4.9 (Harm and offence).
2. Upheld
The CAP Code also stated that marketing communications must not portray or represent anyone who was, or seemed to be, under 18 years of age in a sexual way.One of the female characters was described as a “student”. She was dressed in a white blouse and black pleated skirt, with the straps of a backpack bag visible over her shoulders, which we considered was typical of a school uniform for someone under 18 years of age. However, while her facial features were very youthful and childlike, she was depicted as having a voluptuous body, and the skirt she wore was extremely short and the blouse was tight over her large breasts. We considered that because of her appearance, along with the “student” characterisation, the ad had the effect of portraying someone under 18 years of age in a sexual way.
We therefore concluded the ad also breached the Code by portraying or representing someone who seemed to be under 18 in a sexual way.
On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 1.3 (Social responsibility) and 4.1 and 4.8 (Harm and offence).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained about. We told Metamind AI Ltd t/a AI Persona AI Talk AI Friend to ensure that their ads were socially responsible and did not cause serious or widespread offence, and not to harmfully stereotype women as sexual objects. We also told them not to portray or represent anyone who was, or seemed to be, under 18 years of age in a sexual way.
