ASA Watch

A Facebook post for Superdry, dated 28 October 2017, included text which stated, This is the jacket that gives you a different view ft. Nightscape. The post included a short video of the free runner Nightscape, also known as Harry Gallagher, walking outdoors, along a high-up exposed steel support beam at night, high above a cityscape.

A complainant challenged whether the ad was socially irresponsible and encouraged an unsafe practice.

Supergroup Internet Ltd t/a Superdry said that Harry Gallagher, also known as Nightscape, was a professional parkour and free running athlete with a social media following. They did not consider that the ad was addressed to, or depicted children, as Nightscape was 20 years old and Superdry made apparel and accessories for adults; they did not have a children's range and their advertising was not targeted at children.

ASA Assessment: Complaint upheld

The ASA understood that the activity featured in the ad was free running and that this was regarded as an extreme urban/sport activity. In addition, we considered that the act of walking on an exposed beam, high above a cityscape, was a particularly extreme example of free running. We considered that the ad did not clearly present the activity as being part of a free running session, or highlight that this was an activity which should only be undertaken by such skilled and trained athletes, and that it was being undertaken by such a skilled, experienced and established athlete in this case.

We considered the short stylised clip of the activity, as well as the text This is the jacket that gives you a different view presented the activity in a positive light. While we acknowledged that the ad did not actively state that consumers should undertake the activity, the implication of the text in particular was that it was a fun and daring thing to do. We considered such elements in this context presented free running in a positive light and that the overall impression of the ad was that the advertisers normalised and condoned the activity, and in particular, the extreme act of free running on a high and exposed beam, which we considered was an unsafe practice.

We noted the view that Superdry made apparel and accessories for adults, they did not have a children's range and that their advertising was not targeted at children. However, we considered that their brand, the activity and, for those who had identified him, the influencer chosen to feature in the ad were all associated with youth culture. While we acknowledged the lack of ease of access to such a location meant it would not be an easy activity to emulate, we considered it was likely to appeal to some young adults as an act of dexterity and daring.

For those reasons, we concluded that the ad was harmful and irresponsible.

The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Superdry to ensure their advertising did not condone or encourage an unsafe practice.

A flyer for ScrewCaps UK, a manufacturer of fastener cover caps, was seen on 15 August 2017. The image featured a naked woman photographed from the back, with the shot slightly angled from below, wearing ski boots, gloves and skis, and carrying ski poles. Red text stating COVER UP partially obscured her bottom.

A complainant, who received the flyer with an order which had been made, challenged whether the ad was offensive and degrading to women.

Pro-Dec Products Ltd t/a ScrewCaps UK said they made a niche product which, whilst useful and practical, was not generally seen as aspirational or covetable. Therefore, to make their unsexy product more noticeable, and in keeping with the product's use in covering other elements, the concept behind their ad was to refer to covering up other things that would not be normally seen.

They said that in the nine years they had been trading in the UK, they had distributed in excess of 20,000 such brochures, using a variety of models in different circumstances around the same theme of covering up. They had received 14 complaints directly, in response to the brochures they had produced. They added that the ad in question had been received by 7,000 people and they estimated, due to the multiplier effect, that 16,000 people would have seen the ad. They had ensured that any customers who had complained directly to them would not receive any further brochures.

ASA Assessment: Complaint upheld

Although the ASA acknowledged that the use of a naked person was intended to create a visual pun linked to the concept of covering up and that some readers might appreciate that the use of such an image was intended to be comical in tone, we considered that the image of a naked woman in ski boots and carrying ski poles bore no relevance to the product being advertised, and that a link between the image of a naked woman on a ski slope and the product -- a cover cap -- was not one that people would normally make.

Although a slogan appeared over her bottom, we considered it would be clear to people that the woman was fully nude, bar her ski boots and gloves. We noted she had her back slightly arched to emphasize her bottom, and her breast was slightly visible from the side. We considered that her nudity was further highlighted as it appeared in the context of a ski scene, where people would ordinarily be warmly dressed. We therefore considered the female nudity was gratuitous and the pose and styling was provocative. On that basis, we considered the image could be seen to be sexually suggestive and degrading to women.

We acknowledged that ScrewCaps UK operated a business-to-business model and that this was generally the context in which their advertising would be seen. Although we considered it was therefore unlikely that children would see the ad, we considered that the image still had the potential to be seen by many people who were likely to find it offensive.

Because of the nudity and styling, as well as the woman's pose, we concluded the image was degrading to women and likely to cause serious offence.

The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told ScrewCaps UK not to use similarly sexually suggestive images in their advertising in future.

An ad for BOCA organic toothpastes was seen in the Raconteur supplement which was included in the Times newspaper on 28 July 2017. The ad featured a black and white image of the body of a naked woman, who was wearing only a pair of strappy heels. The woman in the image was shown reclining in a chair and facing a window, with one leg placed on top of a table by the window and the other on the ground. Her buttocks and her groin area were obscured by the arm of the chair. The woman was also shown to be holding a tube of the product.

Two complainants, who believed that the ad objectified women, challenged whether the ad was offensive.

ASA Assessment: Complaints upheld

The ASA noted that the image in the ad showed only parts of the model's body, including the lower parts of her breasts, her stomach, and her bare legs. We noted that her buttocks and groin area had been obscured by the arm of the chair, and her head, the top parts of the arms and torso, including her nipples, were out of the frame and therefore were not visible. We noted BOCA's comments that the model in the ad was not naked and acknowledged that the ad did not include explicit nudity. However, we considered that the way in which the model was depicted gave the impression that the model was fully nude.

We considered that the pose of the model, particularly given that she was shown as reclining with her parted legs facing an open window, was sexually provocative, giving the ad a voyeuristic feel. Furthermore, because the model's face was not shown, we considered that the visible parts of her torso, including her lower portion of her breasts, and the lower half of her body became the visual emphasis of the ad, which was likely to draw readers' attention. We also considered that the nudity and the pose of the model, and the provocative nature of the ad, bore no relevance to the product. Because the ad placed visual emphasis on the model's body in a sexualised manner and such nudity was unrelated to the product, we considered that the ad objectified the model depicted and invited readers to view her body as a sexual object. For those reason, we considered that the ad objectified women and concluded that it was likely to cause serious or widespread offence.

The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told BOCA to ensure that future advertising did not cause widespread or serious offence by objectifying women.

A poster for Quiz Clothing, a clothing retailer, seen in June 2017. The ad depicted a young woman wearing ripped jeans and a bardot-style top, who was sitting in the window of an ice cream van and licking an ice cream.

Two complainants, who both believed the ad appeared to sexualise a child, objected that the ad was irresponsible.

Tarak International Ltd t/a Quiz Clothing said they were sorry that the image had caused discomfort, and that no offence was ever intended, nor was the advert meant to be perceived as sexually explicit. They said their Lost in Summer campaign centred around the fun, everyday activities enjoyed by their consumers during the summer months, and that the ad was relevant to that concept. They said the model in the image was 25 years old at the time of shooting and the thought of sexualisation was never in consideration, nor was it ever intentionally implied.

To avoid any further issues, they had taken steps to remove the image from their digital channels, and the one remaining ad on an outdoor poster site was being taken down. They said they had no plans to use the image again in the future.

Exterion Media said they had reviewed the ad based on their guidelines and did not feel that the model would be considered to be a child or that the image was of a sexual nature.

ASA Assessment: Complaints Not upheld

The ASA acknowledged that the model was 25 at the time the photograph was taken. While the model did appear youthful, she did not appear to be under the age of 16.

We noted that the ad did not feature any explicit sexual references or nudity. The model was sitting with her legs apart, and we considered that this, combined with the fact that she was staring at the camera and licking an ice cream could be seen by some as sexually suggestive. However, we considered that the model's overall pose and expression were not sexually provocative, and the ad was therefore likely to be seen as no more than mildly sexual.

Given the above, we concluded that the ad was unlikely to be seen as sexualising children or be seen to be irresponsible.

David Currie has become the new Chairman of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

David is an accomplished regulator, having acted as the inaugural Chairman of both Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). He sits in the House of Lords as a cross-bencher. As Chairman he will lead the 13 member ASA Council, Board of the ASA and the body that rules on whether to uphold complaints about ads.

The ASA Council also oversees much of the regulator's pro-active work, with recent initiatives including: tougher standards on broadband prices in ads to ensure consumers aren't misled; research into how consumers understand was and now prices to establish whether more needs to be done to avoid misleadingness; a commitment to new standards to remove harmful gender stereotypes in ads from 2018.

David Currie, incoming ASA Chairman said:

The vast majority of ads in the UK are responsible, but where an ad is misleading, harmful or offensive the ASA is here to put it right. As I take up the chairmanship of the ASA, newer forms of online advertising continue to gain ground, including native and influencer ads and those whose targeting is based on consumers' preferences. Across all of these spheres, as well as in the traditional media, the ASA's mission remains the same -- to make every UK ad a responsible ad .