ASA Refuses To Crack Down On Carling’s Fat Bride Ad
The ASA has refused to censure a poster for Carling lager that featured an overweight figurine on a wedding cake, despite complaints that it was offensive and insulting.
The poster, which appeared on the London underground, featured a wedding cake with the figures of a large bride and a miserable looking groom. The icing on the cake beneath the bride was cracked and the poster stated: “Carling Extra Cold”.
Complainants objected that the poster mocked overweight people and implied the groom had drunk too much of the advertised lager and was marrying the bride under duress.
The advertisers explained that the strategy for the ‘extra cold campaign’ was to show a particularly cold take on an everyday situation. They claimed the poster was intended to poke fun at fairy tale weddings, not at large women, or people with red hair.
They also argued that the groom figure came from a real wedding cake and had not been doctored to look miserable. They explained that the advertised product had specifically not been featured in the ad to avoid any suggestion that the scene depicted could occur as a result of drinking it.
The ASA considered that although the poster poked fun at overweight people, it was likely to be seen as humorous and would not cause serious or widespread offence. The watchdog also ruled that the expression on the groom figure’s face was typical of those used for wedding cake figurines and did not imply he was marrying the bride under duress because he was drunk. The complaints were dismissed.
Earlier this week it was revealed that The Number’s high profile 118 118 campaign featuring two seventies-style long distance runners was the most written about ad in the UK national press last month, according to the latest Ads That Make News survey from Propeller Communications (see 118 118 Runners Finish First In Ads That Make News Survey).
ASA: 020 7580 555 www.asa.org.uk
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