ASA Adjudication on Channel Four Television Corporation

Ad

A poster for a Channel Four comedy show featured the title "TRAMADOL NIGHTS" which was written in the style of the fabric craft toy, fuzzy felt. The poster also featured fuzzy felt style images of a badger firing a machine gun, two rabbits attacking each other with hypodermic needles and another who had been stabbed with knives. The ad also featured an animal holding a chainsaw and pools of blood.

Issue

Thirteen complainants objected to the ad:

1. Nine complainants said the use of animals made from fuzzy felt was likely to appeal to younger children and that the featured images of drugs and violence were harmful and likely to cause distress.

2. Two complainants objected that the ad was irresponsible because it could encourage the use of recreational drugs.

3. Two complainants objected that the ad was offensive because of the reference to drugs and violence in the context of a child's toy.

CAP Code (Edition 12)

Response

1., 2. and 3. Channel Four Television Company Ltd (Channel 4) stated that the poster clearly advertised a new post-watershed comedy TV programme featuring the famously challenging comic, Frankie Boyle. They said the visual style of the ad used animals rather than humans and that it was designed to be comedic and surreal rather than a realistic depiction of violent or criminal behaviour. They stated that there was nothing in the ad to suggest that this behaviour was condoned or encouraged and that its distance from reality would be highly unlikely to influence society or encourage imitative behaviour by individuals of any age. They stated that other cartoons such as South Park, Family Guy and the Simpsons had previously used animation with an adult tone and believed, whilst fuzzy felt was a child's toy, the specific tone of the ad would be in no way attractive to children. They believed that any child seeing the poster would not understand the adult themes hinted at within the scene and the post-watershed nature of the programme was clearly signalled in the ad both by the inclusion of the transmission time and by the use of the word "night" in the title of the programme. They stated that the poster sites were carefully selected away from schools to ensure they could effectively reach the audiences they were targeting and to minimise the message being seen by younger audiences who would not be viewing the programmes. They believed the ad did not encourage the use of violence or recreational drugs and that the images were conveyed in an absurdist and surrealist way.

Assessment

1. Not upheld

The ASA noted Channel 4s statement that the advertised programme was shown after 9pm and that this was stated in the poster. However, we also noted the ad appeared in an untargeted medium and considered that, regardless of the target audience of the programme, the ad itself was likely to have been seen by children. We additionally noted the ad featured brightly coloured fuzzy felt animals and considered that such images were likely to attract the attention of younger children. However, we considered that the images of the animals alongside the violence and hypodermic needles were stylised and fantasy-like and that most children would not perceive the images as real or interpret them as a reflection of reality. We concluded that the ad was unlikely to cause harm or distress to children.

On this point investigated the ad under CAP Code rules (Edition 12) rules 4.1 and 4.2 (Harm and offence) but did not find it in breach.

2. Not upheld

We noted the ad featured images of rabbits injecting each other with hypodermic needles and considered that this was an implied reference to drugs. However, we considered that the fuzzy felt images of animals were stylised and clearly removed from reality and that they neither glamorised nor condoned the use of intravenous drugs in humans. We concluded that the ad was not irresponsible.

On this point we investigated the ad under CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 1.3 (Social responsibility) but did not find it in breach.

3. Not upheld

We noted the ad used fuzzy felt, a well-known childrens toy, to portray a broken society through images of animals, violence and drugs. Whilst we acknowledged that the juxtaposition of the fuzzy felt characters and the violent imagery might make some consumers feel uncomfortable, we considered that most consumers would interpret the sharp contrasts to be absurd and surreal. We concluded that the ad was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.

On this point we investigated the ad under CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 1.3 (Social responsibility) 4.1 and 4.2 (Harm and offence) but did not find it in breach.

Action

No further action required

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)