Harmful

All ads should be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and society. They must not cause serious or widespread harm or use approaches that are likely to encourage socially irresponsible behaviour.

This includes not causing fear or distress without justifiable reason (and where justified, the fear or distress should not be excessive) and not condoning or encouraging unsafe practice.

We have upheld complaints about harm and social responsibility against a diverse range of ads including:

Alcohol – e.g. not encouraging excessive or unwise styles of drinking
Motoring – e.g. not encouraging motorists to drive irresponsibly such as at high speed or without a seatbelt
Health – e.g. not discouraging essential treatment of serious or prolonged ailments
Body Image – e.g. not encouraging an unhealthy diet or lifestyle including the depiction of extremely thin models

Particularly special care should be taken when ads are addressed to, or depict, children or young people. Ads that fall in to this category should contain nothing that is likely to result in a child’s physical, mental or moral harm and they should not exploit a child’s credulity, loyalty, vulnerability or lack of experience.

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Latest rulings

Cloud Whale Interactive Technology
- Upheld
- In-game (apps)
- 07 May 2025
An in-game ad was socially irresponsible, likely to cause serious or widespread offence and was irresponsibly targeted
Belle Baby Ltd
- Upheld
- Website (own site)
- 09 April 2025
A website, which featured a product listing for a swimsuit, included an image of a child portrayed in a sexual way.
Next Retail Ltd t/a NEXT
- Upheld
- Website (own site)
- 12 February 2025
A product listing on the NEXT website irresponsibly portrayed a model as being unhealthily thin.
ACME Vape Ltd
- Upheld in part
- Social media (own site), Cinema (ad)
- 04 December 2024
A cinema ad and post seen on IVG Vape’s LinkedIn page made unsubstantiated health claims and promoted unlicensed nicotine-containing vapes in unpermitted media but wasn’t directed at people under 18 through the selection of media in which it appeared.

View all rulings

Harmful

All ads should be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and society. They must not cause serious or widespread harm or use approaches that are likely to encourage socially irresponsible behaviour.

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Next Retail Ltd t/a NEXT

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