ASA Adjudication on Puma AG

Ad

An ad, for football boots, appeared in Match! Magazine and showed the footballer Nicolas Anelka kicking a football in a room; he was surrounded by expensive-looking items that appeared to have been broken or knocked over. Text stated “PUMA THE POWER OF”, followed by a drawing of a football; further text stated “ANELKA WEARS THE POWERCAT 1.10” and text that stated “LOVE EQUALS FOOTBALL” appeared under drawings of a heart and a football.

Issue

The complainants objected that the ad condoned anti-social behaviour, in particular because they understood Match! was targeted at children, who were likely to view famous footballers as role models.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Puma UK (Puma) said the campaign was designed to capture the raw sentiment that players and fans felt towards football, symbolised by the heart equals football icon, replacing love with an illustrated football. They said somebody with a love of football was often so engrossed in the game that they forgot about everything else. The campaign intended to show the joy of people playing football. In the ad, Nicholas Anelka was 100 per cent focused on making a difficult sideways kick and was so lost in the moment that he had forgotten where he was and made a mess in his own home.

They said Anelka was not being aggressive, violent or anti-social but the mess was the result of him having fun. Puma said the message was clearly not intended to be serious, highlighted by the fact the player was in his home, and they believed the audience were unlikely to interpret the ad as such. They believed the ad did not entice anyone to behave in the same way in their own home. Puma acknowledged that Match! was aimed at those aged between eight to 16 years but believed that, nevertheless, the ad did not condone or encourage anti-social behaviour. It was instead likely to be viewed in the spirit in which it was intended, as a light hearted play on the love and passion of football.

Match! said the ad was tongue-in-cheek; they did not believe it encouraged readers to play destructive football games in their homes. They said they had not received any complaints directly about the ad.

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA considered the ad was light hearted and that the scenario of a footballer destroying his own possessions was clearly removed from reality. We acknowledged young readers were likely to view a famous footballer as a role model and that the scenario might be distasteful to some readers. We concluded, however, that because it was light hearted and clearly removed from reality, the ad did not condone, and was not likely to provoke, violence or anti-social behaviour.

We investigated the ad under CAP Code clauses 2.2 (Responsible advertising) and 11.1 (Violence and anti-social behaviour) but did not find it in breach.

Action

No further action necessary.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)