A mention on Today this morning of that Barnardo's ad showing a girl being punched, taking drugs and getting locked up. There were a lot of complaints to the ASA about it, as there were about the singing Jack Russell in the Volkswagen Polo, the selling point of that particular commercial being that the dog is cowed and shivers when it is out of the Volkswagen Polo and that Polos must therefore be very strong cars that make their owners feel secure. Several people complained on animal welfare grounds and others said that the advert broke the Highway Code. None complained about the voiceover for the dog - terrible singing... now that really was cruel.
Volkswagen was in the line of fire recently over the advert showing the engineer fighting clones of himself, though actually the only thing offensive about that was the engineer's hairstyling, or lack of it.
The insurance firm advert featuring Iggy Pop has also drawn complaints since, apparently, the company in question does not offer cover to musicians.
What is it with people who complain about adverts? Don't they realise that adverts ARE MADE UP, PRETEND, MAKE BELIEVE and that you don't have to take notice of them, even if, in the case of the Barnardo's ad, they show parts of life that are generally better not thought of.
If you don't like what's on the telly, turn it off. If you don't like the adverts at the cinema, don't go. If you can't turn the telly off or resist the popcorn counter and those horrible frankfarters, poke your own eyes out and burst your eardrums with a screwdriver. If you can't do that either, just eff off and find something more worthwhile to do.
Blogging for instance.
About 10 years ago Pot Noodle advertised itself as the slag of snacks. Horrible, counter intuative and true. The ASA censured the makers for poor taste, which was justified on more than one level.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment