ITC Rejects NSPCC ‘Cartoon’ Ad Complaints

An advert for the NSPCC featuring a mixture of real-life action and cartoon has prompted 127 complaints to the ITC. Viewers, some of whom had personal experience of child abuse, complained that the advert, which features a real man attacking a cartoon boy, was “upsetting and shocking”.

Shots of the man attacking the boy included the cartoon child being thrown down the stairs. The boy bounces back each time, but the closing shot shows the cartoon replaced by a real boy with the caption “real children don’t bounce back”.

The BACC is said to have considered the advert at length before giving it broadcast clearance, and even then it was not allowed before the 9pm watershed because of its graphic imagery.

The NSPCC defended itself, saying that it had not intended to distress viewers and apologised to anyone who had been upset. It pointed out that the subject matter was not pleasant but that research showed that “hard hitting imagery was an effective means of conveying the seriousness of the issue and moving peole to take action”.

The charity also denied accusations made by five viewers that the advert suggested that only men or fathers abused children.

The ITC gave its sympathy to viewers who had been upset, particularly those with personal experience of child abuse. However, it did not uphold the complaints, saying that while this was acknowledged as a more hard-hitting campaign than some previously used, it accepted the advertisers’ argument in its support.

ITC: 020 7306 7743 www.itc.org.uk

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