Background
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Upheld.
Ad description
An in-app ad for the reading app Galatea, seen in the Wood Away game app on 17 May 2025. The ad featured four animated images. The first depicted four male characters with text that stated, “Your village offered you as a sacrifice and now you stand naked in front of four massive Alphas”. The second image featured one of the previous four characters with text that stated, “The largest one – 6”8” and gorgeous – looks like he could hurt you”. The third image with the same character featured text that stated, “I need to have you’ he whispers”. The last image featured the same character with text that stated, “But instead he leans in and gently kisses your neck”. A further image featured text that stated, “GALATEA. READ HUNDREDS OF BESTSELLERS ON GALATEA” and a book cover with the title, “OWNED BY THE ALPHAS” that featured an image of a woman in the centre surrounded by men.
Issue
The complainant, who believed the ad condoned and encouraged sexual assault and contained references of a sexual nature, and who noted that it appeared in an app with a rating of “4+”, challenged whether the ad was:
1. harmful, offensive and irresponsible; and
2. targeted irresponsibly.
Response
Inkitt GmbH t/a Inkitt said that the Galatea app was rated 17+ and they applied age restrictions in their advertising. Ad networks they worked with were aware of that app rating and that they should not place ads for the Galatea app on platforms or apps that did not follow Inkitt’s guidelines. They said they did not have a direct advertising relationship with Wood Away, the app in which the ad was seen, and they were unaware of the source that had placed their ad on Wood Away.
Assessment
1. Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketing communications must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society. It further stated that marketing communications must not contain anything that was likely to cause serious or widespread offence and nothing that was likely to condone or encourage violence or anti-social behaviour.
The ad was for a book called “Owned by the Alphas” and featured four animated images. The first depicted four large muscular male characters, two with their chests exposed, and included an excerpt from a story that described a scenario in which someone was naked and about to be sacrificed to the men. The second image showed one of the males and text that stated, “looks like he could hurt you” and the third and fourth images featured text that stated, “I need to have you” and “he leans in and gently kisses your neck”. The ASA considered the ad, with the references to the protagonist being naked, “a sacrifice” and in the presence of men who “could hurt you”, to be foreboding and as suggesting that the character was in danger of harm. Further to that, because one of the men stated, “I need to have you” and then kissed the person’s neck, particularly in the context of a book titled “Owned by the Alphas” which featured a woman on the front cover, that consumers would likely interpret the ad as condoning sexually violent behaviour towards women.
We therefore concluded that the ad was irresponsible and likely to cause serious and widespread offence.
On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 1.3 (Social responsibility) and 4.1 and 4.4 (Harm and offence).
2. Upheld
The ad appeared in an app with a rating of “4+”. As set out in point 1, we considered the ad was likely to cause serious and widespread offence to a general audience. Notwithstanding that, we considered the ad was inappropriate for a general audience. As it was likely to be particularly inappropriate for children to see, we considered whether it had been targeted away from children to minimise the risk of them seeing it. Although we noted that the Wood Away app, which was a mobile puzzle app, was not explicitly targeted at children, and we considered it was not likely to appeal particularly to them, it nevertheless had a rating of “4+” and could be downloaded without charge. We considered it was therefore likely to be used by children as well as adults.
We acknowledged Inkitt’s comment that they applied age restrictions to their advertising. However, because in that instance exclusions had not been put in place to prevent the ad being seen in an app which could be accessed by children, we concluded that it was irresponsibly targeted.
On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.3 (Social responsibility).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Inkitt GmbH t/a Inkitt to ensure future ads were prepared responsibly, were appropriately targeted and did not contain scenes which condoned sexually violent behaviour, or which were likely to cause serious or widespread offence.
