ASA Clears NTL Of Shocking Nazi Ads

The ASA has refused to censure a press ad for NTL’s broadband internet service despite complaints that it depicted a man being subjected to a Nazi experiment.

The ad, which appeared in the Guardian and the Independent, featured a series of black and white pictures of a man’s blindfolded face, becoming progressively more distorted in each picture.

A number of complainants believed that the ad showed a man being executed in an electric chair, whilst others thought that it pictured a man being subjected to a Nazi experiment to test the effects of exposure to G-force. The complainants claimed that the as was “offensive” and “shocking”.

The advertisers claimed that the pictures depicted an American pilot undergoing air blast tests and argued that nothing in the images alluded to electrocution or Nazi experiments. Both the Guardian and the Independent said they had believed the images to be suitable for their readers and neither had received complaints.

The Authority acknowledged that the pictures did not show execution or torture and considered that the ad was not “unduly shocking”. It concluded that the ad was unlikely to cause widespread or serious offence and dismissed the complaints.

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

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