ASA Adjudication on Isle of Man Department of Tourism and Leisure

Ad

A TV ad for the Isle of Man Department of Tourism and Leisure showed a large heading which stated "Island Lives: Keirron Tastagh, Peel." A man said "Hi I'm Keirron, and this is my Isle of Man. This is where I work, and this is what I do. When I'm not floating on the sea or scrambling miles above it, you can find us leaping into it. But don't feel too sorry for me, life on the Island's not all work, work, work". The ad showed Keirron taking part in various activities including canoeing, rock climbing and abseiling. At the end of the ad he was shown jumping from a cliff into the sea. A large heading stated "Share more of Keirron's adventures" and showed Isle of Man Tourism's website address.

Issue

Six viewers objected that the scene which showed Keirron jumping from a cliff glamorized the practice of "tombstoning" and was irresponsible because it could encourage emulation. Two of the five believed young people were particularly likely to be influenced by the ad. Three mentioned news reports that people had been killed or seriously injured taking part in the activity.

BCAP TV Code

Response

Clearcast said the purpose of the ad was to highlight, using one of the Isle of Man's residents, some of the features and activities the island offered. They said Keirron Tastagh was shown at work, performing activities such as kayaking, rock climbing and coasteering, and that the voice-over "This is where I work, and this is what I do" established the context that the activities he was shown doing were part of his work. They said Keirron was a qualified coasteering instructor who regularly took people coasteering as part of his adventure experience holiday business. Clearcast said Keirron was shown dressed in full safety equipment throughout the ad.

Clearcast said coasteering was a combination of swimming along the base of cliffs, exploring gullies, caves, cracks and different rock formations created by the sea as a way of experiencing the rock formations and the natural environment of the Isle of Man. They said coasteering was different from "tombstoning" in that it included preparation to survey the planned area to ensure it was safe and that it involved the use of safety equipment, as shown in the ad. They said Keirron's qualifications in adventure tourism exceeded what was required by his insurance company and other regulatory bodies; that he always carried out risk assessments at all levels of tide and snorkelled the area to ensure there were no under water hazards; that both instructors and students always wore wet suits, buoyancy aids and helmets, as Keirron was shown doing in the ad; and that his company had an impeccable safety record.

Clearcast said that, by contrast, "tombstoning" was a highly dangerous activity with no planning or safety equipment. They said they understood the concerns about "tombstoning" and that both the Department of Tourism and Leisure and Keirron Tastagh himself were concerned that "tombstoning" was irresponsible and was giving the safe activity of coasteering a bad name.

Clearcast said they had taken the decision to apply a restriction preventing the ad from being shown around programmes designed specifically for children because they considered that would be a sensible addition to avoid the risk of emulation by the young. They said they did not consider a stricter restriction was necessary in the context of an ad that showed an adventure holiday led by an experienced and qualified instructor featuring the various aspects of his job.

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA noted a number of people had been killed or seriously injured in the UK as a result of "tombstoning," which involved jumping from cliffs or rocks into the sea without the use of safety equipment or precautions. We noted that in this ad, however, the various outdoor activities were very clearly shown to be taking place in the context of an organised, recreational activity with professional expertise and safety rather than, for instance, a context of daring, bravado or an absence of preparation or safety. We considered most viewers were likely to recognise the context of safety and professionalism in which the activities were shown to take place in the ad and that it was unlikely they would be interpreted as condoning or glamorizing the practice of "tombstoning" and the absence of safety precautions that were associated with it. We noted that Clearcast had imposed a restriction that prevented the ad from being shown around programmes designed specifically for children but that the restriction was not designed to prevent any more than the very youngest children (up to four years old) seeing an ad. For the reasons outlined above, however, we did not consider a stricter timing restriction was justified.

We investigated the ad under CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 6.7 (Health and safety), 7.4.2 (Children - Physical harm) and 7.4.7 (Children - Use of scheduling restrictions) but did not find it in breach.

Action

No further action necessary.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)