A minor matter of major importance

29 October 2009

If they choose to feature children in their ads, marketers must take into account public sensitivities about how and for what purpose they are featured.  The public are quick to lodge a complaint with the ASA if they see something that they believe is harmful, offensive or inappropriate. The negative publicity that can result from an upheld ASA investigation is damaging enough but when the issue at hand involves children, advertisers run a real risk of a public backlash against their brand.

Although it might be stating the obvious, special care is needed when using children in ads or indeed producing something that children might see. The advertising rules surrounding children are particularly strict with an emphasis placed on ensuring ads do not contain anything that is likely to result in their physical, mental or moral harm. Some salutary lessons on this topic can be learned from recent ASA adjudications.

Whilst some rules are open to interpretation, which means that even ads made with the best intentions can sometimes inadvertently fall foul of the Codes, one thing is blatantly clear – using children in ads that contain themes of a sexual nature is a high risk strategy that more often than not will lead to censure. Yet advertisers have not always appeared to have taken this into consideration.

Recently, a fashion brand ran into trouble with the ASA when it used a young looking female model to promote its clothes in a magazine. The model was depicted in a series of photographs in which she progressively unzipped her hoody to reveal that she was naked underneath. In the final photo, her nipple was partially exposed.

The ASA received a complaint that the ad was inappropriate and offensive because the model seemed young and vulnerable and therefore could be seen to be sexualising a child. In assessing the complaint the ASA took into account that the model was 23 years old. However, it also considered that in some of the pictures she looked under 16. This, combined with the suggestion that the model was stripping off for an amateur-style photo shoot, meant that the ad could be seen to sexualise the model. Because she appeared to be a child, under the age of 16, the ASA found the ad in breach of the Code found the ad in breach of the Code and likely to cause serious offence to some readers.

Products wholly intended for adults, such as alcohol or gambling are rightly subject to strict advertising rules that prohibit them from appealing to people aged under 18. One of the key rules designed to achieve this concerns the role that minors, or in this instance under 25s, play in ads. Both the alcohol and gambling rules prohibit anyone who is, or seems to be, under 25 years old from being featured drinking, betting or playing a significant role in the ads for those products.

A gambling advertiser ran into trouble with the ASA on this very issue. An e-mail for its online poker site used a picture of professional poker player and champion, Annette Obrestad. The ad stated, “Online experience is measured in games, not years. Join the new breed. Annette Obrestad - "ANNETTE_15". Although the ASA accepted that the e-mail had not been targeted at young people, it ruled that the ad breached rules on appealing to children.

Firstly, the use of “Annette_15” along with the text implied that Annette Obrestad was even younger than she was. By representing a successful young poker player with the implication she was 15 years old, the ASA considered the ad could encourage young people to gamble and was therefore irresponsible. Also, because the Code clearly states that no one under 25 years of age should be featured gambling in a marketing communication, and because Annette Obrestad was 20 years old and as a professional poker player, she played a significant role in gambling in the ad, the ASA concluded the ad was unacceptable.

Using children in ads is a legitimate marketing practice. But advertisers should think very carefully about how they are going to depict minors in their campaigns. The likelihood of the public’s concern being raised about an ad that uses risqué or edgy images and adult themes is increased ten-fold when that campaign features a child. How to avoid running into problems is not an exact science. But a general rule of thumb for all advertisers should be, when in doubt assume that it’s best to keep the kids out of the picture. So simple it’s child’s play.