Advertising Complaints Rise By 33%

The Advertising Standards Authority’s annual report shows that 1995 saw the first ever marked increase in complaints, with 12,804 complaints received concerning 7,715 advertisements – an increase of 33%.

The advert which caused the most complaints was the campaign run by the British Safety Council, which featured the pope wearing a hard hat with the line: “The Eleventh Commandment: Thou Shalt Always Wear A Condom.” A record 1,191 people found this offensive and the ASA upheld the complaints.

The medium which caused most complaints was posters: during 1995 there was an increase of 124% in complaints made about advertising hoardings. There were 2,288 complaints in total relating to 349 advertisements. Those which caused most offence were the Club 18-30 ads (490 complaints upheld) and the poster for Warner Bros’ film Disclosure which showed a couple in an intimate embrace (207 complaints not upheld).

Other campaigns which caused offence were the Hamlet campaign featuring the lottery hand showing an offensive gesture (251 complaints not upheld) and the International Fund For Animal Welfare (270 upheld) which compared the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer to people who did not support the Wild Mammals Bill.

The ASA believes however that the figures “indicate a greater willingness to complain, rather than a general decline in standards.”

Advertising Standards Authority: 0171 580 5555