Pulse & Cocktails: Couples who play together stay together

9th September 2008

Pulse & Cocktails
Blaydon Business Park
Tundry Way
Gateshead
NE21 5SJ

shop details at
www.pulseandcocktails.co.uk

Sex shop wins case over licence revoked by Gateshead Council

Based on article from chroniclelive.co.uk

A sex shop which had its licence revoked in a row over saucy adverts has been allowed to continue trading.

A legal dispute began when adult superstore Pulse and Cocktails put up two billboards along the A695 in Blaydon, Gateshead.

Gateshead Council said the billboards breached the first condition of the shop’s trading licence which does not allow adverts to be placed anywhere other than on shop units.

But now, after an appeal by store owners Cocktails Ltd, the licence has been reinstated and the signs could return.

Owner Graham Kidd said: We are extremely pleased. Because of this decision, five people can keep their jobs. When the signs went down everyone thought we were closed.

Pulse and Cocktails is the only licensed sex shop in Gateshead and runs from a retail outlet in Tundry Way.

It had previously traded as an unlicensed shop but spent two years battling for a full licence allowing it to stock hardcore pornography videos and DVDs. The store is also allowed to sell sex dolls and kinky French maid outfits.

Pulse & Cocktails poster in Stoke
which was cleared by the
Advertising Standards Authority

Cocktails Ltd rejected the council’s ruling because it said while the sign did advertise the sex shop, it only advertised items in a separate, unlicensed section of the store which does not sell pornography. The business said it has no intention of putting up signs advertising pornography.

Magistrates in Blaydon said: Even if we had found the condition had been breached we would still have set aside the revocation as we feel that Mr Kidd runs his business in a responsible manner.

We believe Mr Kidd would not knowingly breach the condition, and when the alleged breach was brought to his attention he immediately took steps to have the advertisement removed.

Furthermore Cocktail's legal costs are to be paid by Gateshead Council.

But local nutters are predictably disappointed with the decision, with many saying they feel uncomfortable with a sex shop on their doorstep.

Blaydon councillor Stephen Ronchetti said: Sex shops are not illegal and it’s not for us to make moral judgements, ...BUT... you would maybe expect the owners of the shop to show a bit more sensitivity to the views of local residents. If they do put them back up then they are showing a contempt for local residents opposed to them.

The council said further discussions about exactly what kind of advertising the shop can use are ongoing.

Mr Kidd who also owns sex shops in Middlesbrough, Leeds, Sheffield and Lincoln, said: We didn’t think the signs were provocative. They were fully checked out by the Advertising Standards Agency. All it shows is a lady in a sexy fancy dress costume.

25th July 2008

Impulse Crime...

Pulse & Cocktails
26 Lumley Road
Skegness
PE25 3NG

Open 7 days a week:
October-April: 10am-5:30pm
May-September: 9am-5:30pm

Closed only Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Years Day and Easter Sunday

shop details at
www.pulseandcocktails.co.uk

Burglar breaks into sex shop for some sexy gear

Based on article from thesun.co.uk

A burglar has been caught on CCTV breaking into a sex shop - to raid shelves and apparently try on the sexy clothes.

The man throws a concrete block through the window of 'sexy superstore' Pulse & Cocktails in Skegness before darting behind the counter.

But instead of heading straight for the till, he pulls stockings and a pink wig from the shelves. He rampages around the shop snatching some naughty knickers off the racks and two pink PVC nurses outfits.

He then goes to the back of the shop with an armful of goods and pulls off his top - seemingly to try them on - before re-emerging and choosing another wig as the shop's alarm rings.

Shop manager Louise Whenman described the incident - which left a bill of £600 - as 'unreal': If only he had come into the shop in the daytime, we could have shown him many more outfits and helped him find the right size.

She added: He would have been devastated - the outfit on the dummy was a small and he would have needed a large.

Police confirmed that they had carried out an investigation and appealed for information. A spokesperson said: We haven't managed to trace the man but the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information should call Skegness CID on 01754 614235.

25th April 2008

Gateway to Prudery...

Pulse & Cocktails
Blaydon Business Park
Tundry Way
Gateshead
NE21 5SJ

shop details at
www.pulseandcocktails.co.uk

Sex shop licence revoked in Gateshead

Based on article from Northumberland Gazette

Pulse & Cocktails poster in Stoke
was recently cleared by the
Advertising Standards Authority

Gateshead's only licensed sex shop has had its license revoked after two large signs advertising the business were put up on a main road.

Members of the public complained when the signs advertising Pulse and Cocktails in Blaydon were seen on the Chainbridge Road close to Scotswood Bridge.

The company was twice refused a sex shop licence in 2004 and 2005, but by its third application all the issues of concern voiced by local people and committee members had been addressed.

A licence was granted in March 2006 for three months, and after no complaints were received, a 12-month renewal was granted.

Update: Appeal

Pulse & Cocktails has appealed and the case will be heard in September. In the meantime the shop is continuing to trade.

13th March 2008

Update:

Little Devils...

Pulse & Cocktails
530 King Street
Longton
Stoke-on-Trent
ST3 1EZ

shop details at
www.pulseandcocktails.co.uk

ASA find Pulse and Cocktails poster not in breach of code

From P ulse And Cocktails

We are delighted to announce we have won our right to ‘sexy’ advertising following a complaint over a billboard poster in Stoke-On-Trent. The poster displayed a female dressed in a Halloween fancy dress outfit with the headline ‘Sexy shopping’. We were led to believe the complainant was a member of the local church and was offended by the satanic implications of the costume.

We are thrilled that the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found in our favour and agreed the poster was not explicit, offensive or inappropriate for display. We understand now that the root of the objection was based on moral grounds.

We have ran similar advertising campaigns since starting in 1997 through press, radio and billboards to which complaints have literally been unheard of in our 10 years of trading.

We are currently in talks with Clear Channel with a view to renewing our advertising contract at the site to which the complaint was received. However, as a sign of respect to the complainant we intend on using a different image as originally suggested, even though the previous advert does not breach any codes.

As part of our 10th year anniversary celebrations in addition to the erotic goods we have expanded the sexy lifestyle side of our stores to include more fancy dress costumes and party novelties, swimwear, luxury gifts, greeting cards, jewellery and footwear.

The ASA decision was published as follows:

The ASA noted Cocktails' comment that the Committee of Advertising Practise (CAP) had seen a press ad produced by Cocktails and had advised that it was unlikely to breach the CAP Code. We understood, however, that CAP had seen only the text of the ad and not the image of the model in the devil outfit. We also noted, following an earlier complaint, the ASA had considered that another poster for Cocktails that featured a model in a bunny girl outfit was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.

We noted the poster was displayed at a busy roundabout and was near a primary school and a church. We considered that, although some would find the woman in a devil outfit and the headline "SEXy shopping" distasteful, the content of the ad was relevant to the advertised product and was not explicit. We concluded that the poster was not inappropriate for display on a poster and was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.

We investigated the ad under CAP Code clauses 2.2 (Responsible advertising) and 5.1 (Decency) but did not find it in breach.

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