Ad description
A brochure, inserted in a mailing, was headed "KILLER is immediate: Drink, Get a real hard on, Enjoy the fun with you partne r...". The brochure included various images of couples and individuals, naked and in passionate embraces, and various subheadings including "KILLER, the little shot that will explode the senses ... making you ever ready for it!", "With KILLER, you no longer have to envy the porn stars! Outperform them!", and "The most powerful Drink SHOT! KILLER unleashes the sexy beast in you!". The body text included explicit references to sexual performance and the dramatic improvements which could be expected after using the product.
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the unsolicited ad was sexually explicit and offensive.
Response
Life Healthcare t/a Nutri-Expert (Nutri-Expert) said the ad was translated from copy which had been used to advertise the product in France. They said the insert had been a failure and they therefore had no intention of advertising the product again in the future. They said they would seek advice on the content of the ad if that situation were to change in future.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA welcomed Nutri-Expert's assurance that they would seek advice on the content of the ad if they considered using it again.
We noted that sexually explicit images and wording appeared throughout the mailing. We considered that it should therefore have been carefully targeted to ensure that it was distributed responsibly and avoid causing offence to unsuspecting recipients. We understood, however, that the mailing had been sent to the complainant unsolicited. Because the ad was likely to cause serious and widespread offence and had not been adequately targeted, we concluded the ad breached the Code.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule
4.1
4.1
Marketing communications must not contain anything that is likely to cause serious or widespread offence. Particular care must be taken to avoid causing offence on the grounds of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age. Compliance will be judged on the context, medium, audience, product and prevailing standards.
Marketing communications may be distasteful without necessarily breaching this rule. Marketers are urged to consider public sensitivities before using potentially offensive material.
The fact that a product is offensive to some people is not grounds for finding a marketing communication in breach of the Code.
(Harm and offence).
Action
The ad must not appear again. We told Nutri-Expert to ensure similar marketing communications were carefully targeted in future to avoid causing offence.
