ASA Adjudication on Novartis Consumer Health UK Ltd

Ad

A TV ad for Savlon Advanced Healing Gel showed a young boy cycling down a hill amongst trees. Noise off-camera indicated that he had fallen off his bike. The ad then showed the boy at home, and a concerned adult putting the product on a cut on his knee. The voice-over stated "New Savlon Advanced Healing Gel creates optimal conditions to help speed up the healing of cuts and grazes from the moment it touches the skin; which could be a problem if your child likes showing off their wounds to impress their friends." The scene shifted to the boy entering a joke shop and purchasing fake wounds. The scene shifted again to show the boy in a playground displaying these fake wounds on his stomach, calves and cheek to other children. Final voice-over and on-screen text stated "Savlon Advanced Healing Gel - a new way to help heal cuts and grazes faster. A touch of Savlon magic."

Issue

1. Eight viewers complained that the ad glamorised wounds and could be seen to condone knife crime amongst the young.

2. Two viewers believed the ad could encourage children to self harm.

BCAP TV Code

Response

1. & 2.  Novartis Consumer Health UK Ltd (Novartis) said they tested the ad on a panel of 150 consumers before airing it; they said it was received positively and they did not foresee the concerns raised by the complainants.  They said the young boy's wound was minor and caused by normal childhood activity and the ad did not suggest deliberate acts of violence or self-harm.  Novartis believed the ad reflected the reality of cuts and scrapes resulting from children playing which their target audience, mothers and parents, could relate to.  They argued that the ad was light-hearted and humorous and showed the children as a happy, cohesive group; they believed there was no suggestion of aggression or physical harm.

Clearcast said, in their view, the ad would not encourage children either to self-harm or harm others.  They said the ad was intended to dramatise in a comical manner the fact that the product created conditions to speed up the healing process.  They said the scars obviously were not real scars and the ad playfully mocked the children for showing off fake "joke shop" wounds; they believed it would not be seen to glamorise real wounds or condone knife crime.  Clearcast said the context of the ad, which showed the boy having a minor cycling accident, did not imply self-harm.

Assessment

1. & 2. Not upheld

The ASA noted the ad showed a boy falling off his bike and having the gel applied to his knee by a caring adult.  We considered that viewers would identify the "joke shop" wounds as fake and see them as part of the fun the boy was having with his friends, not as the result of acts of aggression or self-harm.  We concluded that the humorous tone of the ad and the everyday setting of a young child sustaining a minor injury from playing would be unlikely to be seen to glamorise wounds or knife crime or encourage children to self-harm.

We investigated the ad under CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 6.1 (Offence); 6.2 (Violence  and cruelty); 7.4.1 (Children: mental  harm) and 7.4.1 (Children: physical harm) but did not find it in breach).

Action

No further action necessary.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)