Take A Break TV Ad Sparks Raft Of Complaints
H Bauer has withdrawn a TV ad for its Take A Break magazine after the ITC received over 280 complaints in just over a week.
The ad featured a meals-on-wheels delivery lady so absorbed in reading a copy of the magazine that she left an elderly person waiting for their meal.
According to the ITC, the ad triggered an unusually high number of complaints from individuals, which did not appear to be the result of an orchestrated campaign.
The ad, created by Mustoe Merriman Levy, appears to have struck a chord with viewers who felt it was both ridiculing an important public service and those who receive it.
Strong reactions to adverts which appear to ridicule charitable causes are nothing new. A spokeswoman for the ITC commented: “These kind of ads often hit a nerve, such as the Carphone Warehouse ad that imitated the RSPCA. Many viewers felt this was ridiculing the important work of the RSPCA, even though it was meant to be light-hearted. In fact, the RSPCA was aware of the ad in advance and felt it may indirectly advertise their own message.”
According to the ITC, viewers are often more forgiving of potentially offensive ads for charities, but sometimes take a hard line on commercial companies that appear to be demeaning or exploiting charitable acts for commercial gains.
However, the ITC upheld complaints against the Government’s latest fire safety campaign, after declaring that the images it contained “terrified” children (see ITC Pulls The Plug On Daytime Fire Safety Ads).
ITC: 0207 306 7743 www.itc.org.uk
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