The Independent Television Commission (ITC) has once again demonstrated that sheer numbers of complainants will not guarantee that complaints are upheld against TV adverts. Earlier this year two adverts in a month attracted around 100 viewer complaints, but were still deemed acceptable for broadcast (see ITC Refuses To Uphold Hundreds Of Complaints Against Adverts). The latest report shows that during August one advert managed to attract nearly 400 complaints, and again was let off the hook.
The makers of energy drink Red Devil got more publicity than they bargained for when they put out a television commercial which broke one of the last taboos of broadcasting to the British public. Yes, it appears that along with showing Keith Chegwin’s bare backside (see Channel 5’s Naked Season Ruled Not To Break ITC Code), cruelty to fake wildlife will also raise the nation’s hackles.
The advertisement in question prompted 390 viewer complaints to the ITC. It first of all showed footballer-turned-actor Vinnie Jones in his garden, where he spotted a robin (described by the ITC as animated/stuffed) crying by an empty bird feeder. He was then seen in the kitchen, refilling the feeder and hanging it up. However, as the robin flew joyfully towards it, it turned out that the feeder was hung on the inside of a glass patio door, which the robin then hit and slithered down, to Jones’ amusement. A pack shot was accompanied with the voice-over “Red Devil- You can always repent”.
Complainants, perhaps unsurprisingly, complained that the advert was in bad taste, portrayed an objectionably flippant depiction of cruelty to birds. Some believed it condoned cruelty and could encourage people, especially children, to copy the behaviour. A small number said that the advert had upset their children.
When it became clear that the complaints were going to mount up, the BACC added a restriction requiring the advertisement to be shown only after 9pm. In the course of the ITC’s investigation of the case, it also stated that it had already taken care to ensure that viewers, including children, would be left in no doubt that the bird in the commercial was not real.
The ITC noted that some sections of audience could find the material to be in very poor taste. It also consulted the RSPB to assess the risk that the behaviour in the advert could be emulated, but concluded that “no direct harm was likely to result from the advertising” and therefore judged it acceptable for broadcast. So Vinnie’s stuffed robin lives to fly another day, and Britain’s sensitive types will just have to hide their eyes.
ITC: 020 7306 7743
