ASA Adjudication on ITV Network Ltd

Ad

A poster showed actress Billie Piper lying on a white sheet, wearing a bra and pants and holding a riding crop. Prominent text stated “MY BODY’S A BIG DEAL”. Further text stated “BILLIE PIPER SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL THURSDAYS 10PM New drama based on blogs by Belle De Jour itv 2”.

Issue

Two complainants, who pointed out that the poster appeared in close proximity to schools, believed it was inappropriate to be seen by children.

Investigated under CAP Code clause 47.2 (Children).

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

ITV said they were sorry to hear that the poster's image had caused some offence.  They believed, however, neither the message conveyed by the poster, nor its placement, were likely to cause general offence.  They pointed out that the advertised programme, which was adult in nature and broadcast after 10 pm, was targeted towards adults aged 18 - 34 years.  They said they were aware that any ad for a programme of this type would not suit everyone's taste and, therefore, they were extremely sensitive to how their ads were positioned.

ITV said they had deliberately avoided any references to prostitution and pointed out that Billie Piper posed in underwear not unlike that used in images on ads by other high profile high street stores.  They believed the actress's appearance would be generally accepted by society; they said children would be exposed to this level of nudity in many situations including pre-watershed programming and marketing material.

They added that the poster's text was also deliberately chosen to avoid any reference to prostitution and used language commonly used in magazines.  They believed the term "call girl" was likely to be understood by adults only.      

ITV said the poster was one of 1,000 displayed.  They explained that, with large scale advertising campaigns such as this one, it was not practical or standard practice to specifically select preferred sites.  They believed, because of the scale of the campaign, children would have been exposed to the image on the poster, regardless of whether or not they were placed near a school.  They said, however, they would ensure any future planning would be considered carefully.  

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA noted the complainants' concern about the placement of the poster near a school. We appreciated that some people might have considered the level of nudity in the image to be inappropriate for children. We considered, however, that although the poster used a photograph of a woman wearing underwear, the image was not explicit. We also considered that the level of nudity in the ad was not dissimilar to that which children would be exposed to in other advertising, for example for lingerie and designer fragrances. We agreed with ITV that young children would be unlikely to understand that the poster was advertising a program about prostitution. Given that the image and the language used were not overtly sexual we concluded that the poster was unlikely to cause mental or moral harm to children.

We investigated the poster under CAP Code clause 47.2 (Children) but did not find it in breach.

Action

No action required.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)