Allied Dunbar Get Away With It

The ITC’s February Complaints’ Report, was published today.

Allied Dunbar’s advert portraying a ‘Grim Reaper’ figure received 55 complaints from viewers. The complaints centred around the frightening imagery in the advert. The ITC concluded that the post 7.30pm broadcast restriction was adequate for this advert, and it did not consider that the imagery used went beyond the limits of acceptability in the context within which it was set.

An advert for a part-work about famous murders, produced by Marshall Cavendish, received 241 complaints, but also failed to cause huge concern at the ITC. The advert invited viewers to explore the psychology and motivation of convicted killers such as Fred and Rosemary West and Peter Sutcliffe. The complainants objected that the publication was offensive and glorified murder. The ITC, however, continues to believe that there are not sufficient grounds to introduce a prohibition on advertising for publications that refer to murder. This would, for example, interfere with the ability of newspapers to refer in advertising to crime reports due to appear in forthcoming editions. Hence, the complaints were not upheld.

ITC: 0171 396 7743