Ofcom Clears Hard Hitting Anti-Smoking Campaign
Media super-regulator Ofcom has cleared the British Heart Foundation’s latest anti-smoking television campaign of being distasteful, despite complaints from more than sixty viewers.
The campaign, created by Euro RSCG London, aimed to shock people into quitting by depicting the blocked artery of a thirty year-old smoker and cigarettes dripping with the fatty substance that causes heart disease.
The advertisements have driven record traffic to the British Heart Foundation’s website, but a total of sixty-four viewers complained the images used in the campaign were distasteful and unnecessarily graphic.
Complainants asked how much the hard hitting scenes could be justified and questioned the effectiveness of the approach, along with the connection being made between smoking and heart disease.
The British Heart Foundation defended the campaign by referring to research, which showed that graphic imagery is an effective way to communicate with smokers. It said the image of cigarette ash turning into the fatty substance was used to reinforce the link between smoking and heart disease.
The charity also cited a British Medial Journal study showing how cigarette smoke enhances the build of fat in coronary arteries. This restricts blood flow and increases the risk of a heart attack.
Ofcom acknowledged that some viewers had found the campaign objectionable, but concluded that the importance of the message outweighed the offence caused. It dismissed the complaints and ruled that the ad was acceptable for transmission.
Earlier this month the British Heart Foundation revealed the campaign had generated the most impressive response of any health awareness initiative it has ever run. Traffic to its anti-smoking microsite increased by almost 80% and nearly 100,000 people phoned the special smoking hotline in just over a month (see Anti-Smoking Campaign Gets To The Heart Of The Matter).
Ofcom is currently planning to introduce a new self-regulatory scheme for broadcast advertising in a move that will see all complaints brought under the one umbrella organisation, which will have the ASA as its public face (see Ofcom Launches Consultation On Advertising Regulation).
Ofcom: 020 7981 3000 www.ofcom.org.uk
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