Dog Breath Ad Ditched As Complaints Rise
The controversial TV ad for Wrigley’s X-cite chewing gum, which features a man regurgitating a dog, has been taken off air following a record number of complaints from viewers.
The ad prompted over 660 complaints to the ITC in its first ten days on air, with outraged parents claiming it had distressed their children.
Wrigley’s has apologised for the ad and has taken it off air. However, the company has pointed out that the “vast majority” of viewers responded positively to the commercial, which features a man waking up on the sofa after an apparently heavy night out. As he wakes up a dog’s paw comes out of his mouth and he appears to regurgitate a scruffy grey dog.
The man eats some X-cite chewing gum and the dog disappears just in time for the man’s girlfriend to give him a kiss. The ad culminates with the strapline: “Avoid dog breath.”
The ad was originally cleared by Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre on the condition that it should not be screened during children’s programmes. After prompting a flood of complaints the commercial was moved to a post-watershed slot, in an attempt to avoid causing further offence.
However, this proved unsuccessful and the ad was taken off-air altogether over the weekend. The total number of complaints relating to the ad is now thought to stand at over 700, making it one of the most controversial TV ads of all time.
Over the last few weeks the ITC has been inundated with complaints about controversial TV ads. Last month the watchdog upheld 318 complaints against a national television ad campaign for Take A Break magazine after viewers claimed that it degraded the elderly (see ITC Upholds Complaints Against H Bauer’s Take A Break).
ITC: 0207 306 7743 www.itc.org.uk
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