The twenty most complained about ads
25 April 2005
Religious offence is the predominant theme in complaints to the advertising regulators
The ASA’s Annual Report for 2004 reveals the most complained about advertisements for 2004. Reflecting its new responsibility for broadcast advertising, two top ten lists of most complained about ads have been published - one of non-broadcast advertisements; the other for broadcast commercials. All of the ads featured in the broadcast listing attracted complaints to the previous broadcast advertising regulator, Ofcom.
Religious offence was a predominant theme in the complaints received by the regulators. The two most complained about non-broadcast advertisements - a Channel 4 poster for the programme Shameless (which depicted a drunken family scene styled on the Leonardo Da Vinci painting of the Last Supper and attracted 264 complaints) and a poster by Schering Health Care Ltd (advertising the morning-after pill, Levonelle, beneath the headline “Immaculate Conception” and drawing 183 objections) – and the second most complained about broadcast commercial – for Mr Kipling cakes (806 complaints about a nativity play which featured a real-life birth) attracted 25% of the all the complaints sent about the ads featured in both the top ten lists. The ads had attracted complaints that they mocked elements central to the Christian faith. Of these three, complaints about both the Mr Kipling commercial and the Levonelle poster were upheld.
Top of the broadcast advertising complaints list was the teleshopping channel Auctionworld, which attracted 1,360 complaints principally about delays in the delivery of ordered goods, misleading guide prices and poor customer service. Ofcom not only upheld complaints about the channel, but issued a record fine of £450,000. The channel’s licence was revoked and Auctionworld has not broadcasted since November.
The advertising codes state that advertisements should not cause serious or widespread offence. Auctionworld was the only advertisement listed in he broadcast list of most complained ads, which was not challenged underneath the offensiveness code. Eight of the ads appearing in the non-broadcast top 10 most complained about ads list generated complaints that their content was offensive.
Al the ads featured in the Top Ten lists can be viewed in the ASA Annual report website microsite, which can be accessed from the ASA website– www.asa.org.uk/asa/annual_report.