ASA Dishes Out Pre-Watershed Ban On Crazy Frog
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has held up nearly 300 complaints against the flurry of irritating ringtone advertisements created by mobile content firm, Jamster, issuing the company with a pre-watershed ban on all its advertising to counter their appeal to young viewers.
The ads, featuring animated characters Crazy Frog, Nessie the Dragon and Sweetie the Chick breached TV advertising standards codes, the watchdog said, contravening regulations on misleading advertising, preying on children’s inexperience, causing moral harm and distress, and abusing scheduling restrictions.
The ASA ruled that, despite the ads not being aimed at children, there was a strong appeal none the less, and the product was clearly of interest to them. In delivering its verdict, the ASA stated that a “timing restriction placing the ads post 9pm should be applied.”
The new restrictions could hit Jamster hard, with the company previously airing 40,000 adverts in a one-month period. However, the ASA ruled that the frequency of the ads, peer pressure, merchandising such as children’s T-shirts, the hit CD, articles in the press, and the ease of being able to subscribe by text, with no initial payment being made had all added to the problem which now requires addressing.
The ASA also cited evidence from a number of complainants, reporting that children had run up large phone bills in its argument that children had been influenced by the Jamster commercials.
The ruling is likely to act as a warning to other mobile operators, with the industry as a whole now being sent a clear message that ads for ringtones and other mobile phone subscription services should not appeal to under 16s.
The Crazy Frog character has landed Jamster in hot water previously, after adverts featured the annoying amphibian with exposed genitalia. Earlier this year over 400 irritated viewers complained about one of the firm’s adverts, purely because of its regular, and infuriating, appearance in ad breaks (see Infuriating Ringtone Ad Draws Over 400 Complaints).
ASA: 020 7580 5555 www.asa.org.uk