ASA Adjudication on EnterCard Sverige AB

Ad

A TV ad, for the 'Re:member' credit card, appeared on TV3, an Ofcom licensed channel broadcast in Sweden. A voice-over stated "Its not just you. We all have the most bizarre thoughts. Impulses constantly flowing through our heads that would have dramatic consequences if we actually went through with them". The ad featured a young woman, sat on a bridge, with her arm around a young man. Another scene showed a man among a group of people on the roof of a tall building. As the ad continued, the man was seen to jump from the roof of the building and the young woman pushed the young man off the bridge. The ad also showed a woman being driven past a crowd which included photographers. As she passed the crowd, she made a gesture with her hand out of the window of the car. Another scene featured a woman who was driving a bus and appeared to be topless. The voice-over continued "So why don't we? Why do they stay in our heads? The answer is simple, control. And yet, the most common fear about credit cards is of losing control. Why is that? Remember, just because you can do something it doesn't mean you will. Remember you're in charge." The ad finished with a scene that featured the young woman, again sat on the bridge, with the young man who, in reality, had not been pushed off the bridge.

Issue

1. A Swedish viewer complained that the ad was offensive and distressing, because it depicted scenes of an apparent suicide and of someone being pushed off a bridge.

The ASA challenged whether:

2.  the scene with the hand gesture was offensive; and

3. the scene featuring a woman, who seemed to be semi-naked, was offensive.

BCAP TV Code

Response

EnterCard Sverige AB (EnterCard) pointed out that the ad appeared at a time when the broadcaster would have shown content that was likely to challenge or even offend viewers. They maintained the reaction from viewers was mostly positive, although they acknowledged that a minority found the scene of the partygoer jumping from the roof distressing.  EnterCard stressed that the sequence was in no way intended to depict a suicide attempt.

Viasat Broadcasting UK Ltd (Viasat), who controlled TV3, said the channel was broadcast in Sweden and featured general interest programming.  They believed the ad did not depict anything that was likely to offend against generally accepted moral, social or cultural standards or cause serious distress to a significant number of viewers.  Viasat said the ad was aimed at an adult audience and believed it had been scheduled appropriately.  They said the ad was primarily aired after 10 pm on TV3; 76% of airings were after 10 pm and 10% between 9 pm and10 pm.  The remaining 16% equated to just four airings before 9 pm.  Viasat believed Scandinavian viewers had a far more lenient attitude than UK viewers to moral and social issues.

1. Viasat said the idea behind the ad was that people had certain thoughts from time to time that they did not act on; the ad showed what might happen if they did. They believed the ad ultimately illustrated that people had control over their actions and, more specifically, their credit card.  Viasat believed the outcome of the ad was positive because it showed that the girl did not really push the man off the bridge. They said the ad was aired at 10:55 pm on the day the Swedish viewer said he saw it.  They pointed out that that was well after the 9 pm watershed and they believed they could not have reasonably foreseen that one viewer would be offended by the ad so late at night.

2. Viasat said they had noted the ASA/ITC research report on expletives, when they had considered whether to broadcast the ad.  They concluded that the scene would not cause offence to a TV3 audience and pointed out that they had received no complaints from viewers.  Viasat believed the scene fitted naturally with the theme of the ad and was more illustrative of a childish act than an offensive one.  They believed viewers were likely to see the gesture as humorous rather then offensive.

3. Viasat said they had considered the ITC's report, 'Nudity in Television Advertising', and had concluded that the scene was acceptable for broadcast. They acknowledged that it depicted a semi-naked woman but maintained that the scene was brief, non-sexual and, due to the reflection from the bus windscreen and the distance from which the scene was filmed, the woman was concealed to such an extent that a Scandinavian audience would not be offended by the image.

Assessment

1. Upheld

The ASA noted the ad was predominantly shown after 9 pm and was unlikely to have been seen by children.  We noted the fantastical nature of the scenes but considered that viewers were likely to infer that the man jumping from the building was committing suicide. We concluded that viewers could be offended and distressed by the scene featuring a man being pushed from a bridge and what seemed to be a suicide attempt.

The ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 6.1 (Offence) and 6.4 (Personal distress).

2. Not upheld

We noted the theme of the ad was that sometimes people had thoughts that they did not act upon and considered that most viewers would see the scene in that context.  We also noted the timing restriction of the ad and that the scene was very brief. We considered that viewers were likely to regard the scene as mildly humorous, rather than obscene.  We concluded that the ad was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.

On this point, we investigated the ad under CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rule 6.1 (Offence) but did not find it in breach.  

3. Not upheld

We noted the timing restriction of the ad.  Although we considered that the ad implied that the woman driving the vehicle was naked or semi-naked, we considered that the scene was not sexual and would not be seen to feature explicit nudity or semi-nudity. We concluded that the ad was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.

On this point, we investigated the ad under CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rule 6.1 (Offence) but did not find it in breach.

Action

The ad should not appear in its current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)