ASA Adjudication on Warped Ltd

Ad

A flyer for a nightclub featured an image of the late Pope John Paul II holding a bottle of beer and dancing with a blonde woman in a short dress. Headline text stated "BESERK". Smaller text stated "AT THE NEW CLUB FIRE MONDAYS".

Issue

The Ipswich and Suffolk Council for Racial Equality challenged whether:

1. the depiction of the deceased Pope John Paul II was offensive;

2. the ad was particularly offensive to Polish people, because Pope John Paul II was a well-respected Polish figure;

3. the ad was irresponsible, because it linked alcohol to sexual success and could encourage immoderate drinking.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

1., 2. & 3. Warped Ltd (Warped) said they had no intention of using the flyer again in any media. They said the flyer had been distributed over a period of three to four weeks to promote a club night at Club Fire.  They said the flyers were not sent out as blind mail-outs but would be handed to people who looked like they would enjoy an alternative rock night, such as metallers, punks, goths and other similar subcultures.

Assessment

1. Upheld

The ASA noted Warped's intention not to repeat the flyer. Despite their assertion that the ad had been distributed only to those people who were the club's target audience, we nonetheless considered that the depiction of the deceased Pope caused serious offence.  Because it had caused serious offence, we concluded the ad was irresponsible.

On this point the ad breached CAP Code clauses 2.2 (Principles), 5.1 (Decency) and 13.3 (Protection of privacy).

2. Not upheld

Although we noted the deceased Pope John Paul II was a well-respected Polish figure, we did not consider his nationality was the primary factor associated with his papacy, or that the ad had set out to denigrate Polish people. Whilst we accepted that some members of the Polish community in Ipswich may find the image distasteful, we concluded the ad was unlikely to cause widespread offence on the grounds that the Pope was Polish.

On this point we investigated the ad under CAP Code clauses  2.2 (Principles), 5.1 (Decency) and 13.3 (Protection of privacy) but did not find it in breach.

3. Not upheld

We noted the deceased Pope was depicted holding a bottle of beer and dancing with a young woman. However, we also noted that the bottle of beer was not given particular prominence in the scene. We therefore considered its role in the relationship between the dancing figures was incidental, and it was unlikely to be seen as a contributory factor in any perceived sexual success. We concluded the ad was unlikely to encourage immoderate drinking and did not link alcohol with sexual success.

On this point we investigated the ad under CAP Code clause 56.9 (Alcohol) but did not find it in breach.

Action

The ad must not appear again in its current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)