Superstition and appeals to fear

16 Superstition and Appeals to Fear

Advertisements must not exploit the superstitious and must not, without justifiable reason, play on fear.

A ‘justifiable reason’, for example, would be where the aim of the advertisement was to influence listeners to take action to improve safety or welfare. An impression of a person under threat from fire or a car accident could be acceptable, for example, if their function was to persuade listeners respectively to fit smoke alarms in their homes or to wear seat belts.