ASA Adjudication on Fly53 Ltd

Ad

An ad for the fashion brand Fly53, which appeared in NME magazine, showed one man holding a gun against the head of a second man, who seemed to be seated. The man holding the gun had one hand held tightly against the throat of the other man, who had closed eyes and clenched teeth. The men seemed to be in a dark room. The bottom of the ad contained a list of words in small text: "CONFESSION REVIVAL RETRIBUTION TORMENT ATONEMENT DIVINITY"; the word "CONFESSION" was highlighted. Below that, small text stated "FLY53 OUTFITTERS FOR THE RESISTANCE CONCEIVED DESIGNED AND BORN INTO THE WORLD TO PROTECT AND SERVE THE 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE".

Issue

The complainant thought the ad's depiction of gun crime was offensive, irresponsible and unsuitable for display in a music magazine, because it glamorised violence.

CAP Code

Response

Fly53 said the ad campaign was based on the fictitious 'House of Fly53', which consumers could explore on their website. Each room in the house had a theme - Confession, Revival, Retribution, Torment, Atonement and Divinity - and was intended to show people in a state of heightened senses, with blurred boundaries between the real and surreal. The ad was based on the 'Confession' room. Fly53 explained that to be fully accepted into the house, visitors must first confess their fashion crimes. They could then move through the house to the final room where they reached 'Atonement' in the world of Fly53. The house was supposed to have a fantastical and cinematic feel and was not intended to be realistic.

Fly53 said the idea behind the use of the gun was to amplify the importance of the confessional stage. They continued that the ad was aimed, via a specific print medium, at an educated, creative and intelligent young market who, they believed, would understand the ad's intended meaning. They felt readers of NME magazine would realise the gun was not real and would not see it as violent or threatening. They argued that the tattooed hands of the man holding the gun, and the expressions on the faces of the men, were cartoon-like.

Fly53 believed displaying the image out of the context of the 'House of Fly53' might have taken away the essence and story of the house, leading to the misinterpretation that the ad glamorised violence. They apologised for any offence caused and stated that, as a result of the complaint, they had withdrawn the image from advertising in print media.

NME magazine said they had a long-standing association with Fly53 through advertising and sponsorship. The ad was part of a collection of still images taken from a film commissioned by Fly53. All the images followed a theme and story that fitted with the brand values of Fly53, 'Outfitters For The Resistance'. NME said Fly53 were a fashion brand so were expected to be edgy and provocative. They pointed out that the ad offered a website address and highlighted the theme of 'Confession'; they believed that made clear that the ad was part of a wider concept and was not using a one-off image, which glamorised gun violence, to sell clothes. They said they had received no complaints from readers but would not publish the ad in NME magazine again, and would bear the complaint in mind when considering publishing Fly53 ads in future.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA considered the way in which one man was holding a gun to the head of another, with his hand held tightly against the other man's throat, was aggressive and threatening. The seated man, who had closed eyes and clenched teeth, seemed to be frightened and suffering, and the darkness of the room in which the two men were depicted contributed to the menacing atmosphere. We disagreed that the violence depicted would be seen as cartoon-like and considered that it seemed realistic. Although the image resembled a scene from a film, we noted the ad was for a clothing brand and not, for example, a film with violent scenes, which made it more likely that its portrayal of violence would be seen as gratuitous. We considered the small text "FLY53 OUTFITTERS FOR THE RESISTANCE CONCEIVED DESIGNED AND BORN INTO THE WORLD TO PROTECT AND SERVE THE 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE" was incongruous when juxtaposed with an image of violence, and could be seen as glamorising it. We were of the view that any attempts to link the ad's image more closely with the 'House of Fly53' would not necessarily have made it any less problematic.

We considered that the ad's depiction of gun crime was likely to be seen as glamorising and condoning real violence. We concluded that the ad was likely to cause serious or widespread offence, and was irresponsible and unsuitable for display in a music magazine.

The ad breached CAP Code clauses 2.2 (Responsible advertising), 5.1 (Decency) and 11.1 (Violence and anti-social behaviour).

Action

The ad must not appear again in its current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)