“Snipping” Incidents Sparked By Ad

An advert for Dulux in which a woman snips a piece of material from a man’s anorak hood has lead to copycat actions by members of the public. The Independent Television Commission (ITC) received 158 complaints about the series of ads, some from victims who claim to have been “snipped” as a result of their broadcast.

The ads, created by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, carry the claim “You find the colour, we’ll match it”, and show people going to extremes to find the right colour for their decor. A woman pinches a pair of purple knickers from a washing line and is later seen painting her walls the same colour. In another, a baby drops its toy from a pushchair and a woman is about to hand it back when she suddenly walks away with it and is later seen painting her walls the same colour as the toy.

Complainants objected that the commercials encouraged theft and anti-social actions. One viewer said that her grandson’s anorak had been “snipped” while he travelled on a bus, a direct replication of the ad. Another said that his suit jacket had been cut in a similar fashion. One viewer reported that someone had tried to walk off with her child’s toy because it was the right colour.

The ITC found this a difficult case to judge and understood the advertiser’s humorous intent but was worried that people were encouraged to commit anti-social acts as a result. It upheld complaints in regard to the snipping ad and gave guidance in relation to the other two.

A Saatchi and Saatchi ad for Castlemaine XXXX was also the subject of 27 complaints, eight from blind people. The ad showed a blind man being rushed by his guide dog through busy streets, only to reveal at the end that his haste was to get to the pub before it closed. Most complainants said that the portrayal of blind people was in poor taste. The ITC did not uphold the complaint.

The ITC also received a complaint from the Radio Authority regarding a Teletext item describing Sunny FM’s bid for a commercial radio licence. It was unclear whether the item was an advert or editorial and the authority was concerned that an editorial piece would breach advertising codes about editorialising by a television company. The complaint was partly upheld.

Independent Television Commission: 0171 306 7743