Channel 5 Escapes Hamilton Ad Censure

Channel 5 has escaped censure from the ASA after the authority refused to uphold complaints against a cartoon-style ad for the channel’s UEFA Intertoto Cup coverage, which featured Neil and Christine Hamilton.

The advert, which appeared in the Daily Express and the Daily Mail at the same time as the allegations surrounding the Hamiltons, pictured Neil Hamilton apparently saying to his wife; “Do you think we’ll score tonight?” to which she supposedly replied; “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The authority received complaints that the ad was offensive and trivialised rape, with one person objecting that the ad was cheap and hurtful to the Hamiltons.

Channel 5 argued that the ad appeared after the Hamiltons were found innocent of assault and made no reference to rape or to the Hamilton’s accuser. They argued that the ad made a humorous suggestion about how Mrs Hamilton was accustomed to issuing denials and might misinterpret her husband’s comments about the football score. They asserted that the ad was targeted at the media’s portrayal of the Hamiltons and not their alleged crime.

The ASA recognised that although the ad featured the Hamiltons when they were accused of sexual assault, it made no mention of assault of any kind and neither trivialised rape nor was likely to cause serious or widespread offence. The authority also considered that although the ad contained an oblique reference to sex, it neither portrayed the Hamilton’s unfairly nor referred to them adversely or offensively. Both complaints were rejected.

ASA: 020 7580 5555 www.asa.org.uk

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