ASA Ruling on Ministry of Sound Group Ltd
Ministry of Sound Group Ltd
103 Gaunt St
London
SE1 6DP
Date:
30 April 2014
Media:
Television
Sector:
Leisure
Number of complaints:
4
Complaint Ref:
A14-254476
Ad
A TV ad for a music compilation CD, featured a young woman in leggings and a crop top dancing around a council estate.
Issue
Four complainants challenged whether the choreography was overtly sexual and demeaning to women.
BCAP Code
Response
Clearcast stated that the dancing used in the ad was known as "twerking" or the Mapouka dance style that originated from Africa's West Coast. They acknowledged that the choreography was provocative, particularly the scenes which were filmed in slow motion, but did not agree that it was overtly sexual. They commented that the woman was fully clothed with only her arms and midriff exposed. Furthermore, no men or audience were present in the ad, which showed that the woman was not dancing for the benefit of anyone else. They considered that the style was empowered and aggressive rather than overtly sexualised or demeaning.
Clearcast were conscious that the dancing may not have been appropriate for young viewers but they did not consider it would cause serious or widespread offence against generally accepted moral, social or cultural standards, particularly as it was a dance style that had been absorbed into main stream pop culture and regularly used in pop videos. Clearcast also disagreed that the ad would cause physical, mental, moral or social harm to persons over the age of 16. They did, however, apply an "ex-kids" scheduling restriction preventing the ad from being shown in the breaks immediately before, during or immediately after programmes targeted at children aged 16 and below.
Assessment
Not upheld
The ASA acknowledged that the ad contained scenes of dancing known as "twerking". We noted that some scenes were filmed in slow motion, showing the girl thrusting her pelvis in and out; particularly focusing on her crotch area and bottom, which we considered could be interpreted as being suggestive. However, we noted that in the context of an ad advertising a dance CD, the dancing would be regarded as reflecting the genre of music that was being promoted. Furthermore, we noted that the girl was dancing alone and that there were no explicit sexual references in the ad. Therefore, while we considered that the choreography could be seen as suggestive, we concluded that it was not overtly sexual or demeaning to women, likely to cause serious or widespread offence or likely to cause harm to children.
We Investigated the ad under BCAP Code rules 1.2 (Social Responsibility), 4.1, 4.2 (Harm and Offence), 5.1 (Children) but did not find it in breach.
Action
No further action necessary.
