ASA Adjudication on Channel Four Television Corporation

Ad

A poster for a Channel Four TV programme showed a gold credit card with the text "NEW DRAMA GOLDPLATED STARTS WEDS 18/10/06" on it. There was white powder along the edge of the credit card.

Issue

The complainants thought the ad was offensive and irresponsible, because it glamorised illegal drug use and could encourage drug use amongst young people.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Channel Four said the poster was for a new drama called Goldplated, which followed the morally destitute lives of a group of individuals based in Cheshire.  They pointed out that the card stated "New Drama Goldplated" and that the Channel Four logo was shown; they said that made clear that the poster advertised a new TV drama.

They said the ad did not condone or encourage the use of drugs and did not contain images of a person taking drugs.  They said the white powder on the card was unidentified and pre-existing knowledge of drugs and drug taking was required to connect the powder to illegal drug use.  They said the connection between the white powder and drugs was one that only an adult audience would make. They believed that parents would therefore be able to respond appropriately to any questions raised by their children.  They said the ad had to be seen in the context of other material in the public domain: there had recently been several high profile front-page newspaper articles regarding illegal drug taking by celebrities and the prevalence of illegal drug taking in society was a matter of public knowledge.

Channel Four argued that the image of the card, in conjunction with the name of the drama, Goldplated, indicated how tacky the characters' lives were and did not show the characters in an aspirational way.  They said the use of a credit card also served to show that the characters wealth was built on the shaky foundation of credit, not real wealth.  The said the drama did not condone cocaine use and one character associated with cocaine was depicted as angry and unstable. Her drug use resulted in a spell in rehab and a car accident and her cocaine-fuelled affair with another character ended with his suicide.

Channel Four said the poster sites were carefully selected so that they were not positioned near any schools.  They said they had put the poster up at 1772 sites and the seven complaints received by the ASA showed that most people who saw the poster did not find it offensive.

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA noted the prominence of the Channel Four logo and the words "NEW DRAMA" on the poster and considered that viewers would understand that the ad was for a Channel Four TV drama.  We considered that, although the white powder shown on the credit card could be recognised as cocaine by some viewers, children and people unacquainted with drug use would not connect the image to cocaine consumption.  We considered that it was likely to be seen as reflecting the content of the TV drama and unlikely to be seen as glamorising drug use.  We concluded that, because the ad was unlikely to be seen as condoning or promoting illegal drug taking, it was not irresponsible and was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.

We investigated the ad under CAP Code clauses 2.2 (Responsible advertising), 4.1 (Legality) and 5.1 (Decency), but did not find it in breach.

Action

No further action required.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)