ASA Gives Anti-Social Easynet Ads The Boot

The ASA has censured a series of press ads for internet service provider, Easynet, on the grounds that they condone violent and anti-social behaviour.

One of the ads, which appeared in the Evening Standard, featured a man being punched in the face by another man and was headlined: “When your MD finds out you’re spending up to 85% too much on your internet connection”. The other pictured a man being punched in the face by a woman and stated: “When your employees discover that their internet connection could be 140 times faster.”

The advertisers said they believed the ads provoked a strong reaction without trivialising violence. They claimed to have altered the campaign in response to comments from people in focus groups, replacing pictures of a boxing contest with pictures of people in business suits. They said that the ads targeted a sophisticated metropolitan readers, depicted a “surreal” and “humorous quality”.

The publishers said their readers would find the ads humorous and believed that the advertisers were trying to reach consumers in an eye catching but responsible way.

However, the Advertising Authority considered that the ads would not generally be seen as humorous and concluded that they were likely to cause serious or widespread offence. It also felt that the ads would be seen as condoning violence and antisocial behaviour. The complaints were upheld and the advertisers told not repeat a similar approach again.

ASA: 020 7580 5555 www.asa.org.uk

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