ASA Adjudication on Vertigo Films Ltd

Ad

A radio ad, for the film "1 Day", featured a character saying "I owe my man a hundred grand rude boy" and "Tell me exactly how you're gonna get my money to me". The sound of two gun shots was heard, followed by a character saying "We need to go do what we gotta do blood". As hip-hop style music played in the background, a voice-over stated "One day to settle a debt, one day to make it right. Mobo says the film '1 Day' is a British grime musical revelation. 'Thrilling' says Total Film. '1 Day' in cinemas now, certificate 15".

Issue

One listener thought the ad was offensive and could cause harm to young, impressionable listeners, because it condoned the use of gun violence.

BCAP Radio Code

Response

Vertigo Films said the ad aimed to communicate to listeners the film's synopsis, which was that the lead character had 24 hours to repay a debt while being pursued by a rival gang. They argued that the ad did not use offensive language or refer to gratuitous violence, and the gun shots were featured because they reflected the film's storyline. They said neither the ad nor the film itself sought to condone or encourage illegal or harmful behaviour. They stated that they had no plans to repeat the ad, which had been aired to promote the film's appearance in cinemas.

The RACC said they had checked the ad's content and presentational style carefully before allowing it to be broadcast. They did not apply any scheduling restrictions to the ad, because they thought the content did not condone violence, and the guns were confined to toned down and indistinct sound effects and were used only as an indicator of the film's content. They believed the ad, when taken as a whole, would be seen as reflecting the nature of the film in a non-harmful manner, not as condoning gun violence.

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA considered that the gun shots were not the ad's focal point and sounded relatively muted and brief, and listeners would realise that they were set in the context of an ad for a film. We considered the sound effects and the audio clip from the film represented its content, and any violence implied by the gun shots was not gratuitous or graphic. We considered that listeners were unlikely to infer from the ad that it was acceptable to resort to violence in order to settle a debt in real life. We concluded that the ad was unlikely to be seen as condoning the use of gun violence and was unlikely to cause offence or harm to listeners.

We investigated the ad under CAP (Broadcast) Radio Advertising Standards Code section 2 rule 9 (Good taste, decency and offence to public feeling) and rule 10 (Harm) but did not find it in breach.

Action

No further action necessary.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)