Thirteen complaints were lodged with the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI) over a recent television commercial for Unilever brand Flora, however the Authority did not uphold the complaints, according to its recent Complaints Bulletin.
In the commercial, titled 'Wrestlers', a cartoon tells the story of two children making breakfast for their parents. "When we carried it upstairs, Mummy and Daddy were already awake," the voiceover says. "Mummy won't let us watch wrestling on TV, but she seemed quite good at it with Daddy."
Complaints to the ASAI focused on the use of a child's voiceover in an advertisement with an 'adult theme', the 'use of sex to sell Flora, as there was no connection between the two', and the content, which was deemed 'offensive, irrespective of the time the advertisement aired'.
Responding, the advertisers said that they 'go to great lengths to ensure that their advertising was legal, decent, honest and truthful', that the advert 'strictly adheres' to Unilever's Code of Business Principles, and that the advert was given an 'ex-kids' restriction, meaning it could not be transmitted during TV breaks in children's programming.
The Authority did not uphold the complaints, saying that while the ad had caused 'some offence', it was not deemed to be 'grave or widespread offence within the meaning of the Code'.
Other complaints relating to the food and beverage sector were made against Diageo, over its 'Clock' advert (which Alcohol Action Ireland said 'insinuated that 'drinking Guinness helped in completing tasks successfully, prevented bad fortune and helped in celebrating precious moments'), and against Brennans bread, for an advert describing the bread as a 'source of protein'. Both complaints were not upheld.
© 2014 - Checkout Magazine by Stephen Wynne-Jones
