Ad description
An email from Koi Footwear, received on 2 April 2025 featured the subject heading “Take two and call us in the morning [pill emoji] [pill emoji]”. The body of the email included a photo of a syringe and a vial containing pink liquid. The vial included text on the side which stated, “KOI”. Text above the image stated, “// SIDE EFFECTS: MAY INCLUDE OBSESSION.” Underneath that, product images of Koi shoes were featured.
Issue
The complainant, who believed the ad glamourised drug use, challenged whether the ad was offensive and irresponsible because it encouraged or condoned drug use.
Response
Koi Footwear Ltd stated that the ad was inspired by Japanese subcultures, biotech aesthetics, and video game references, in particular, the Silent Hill franchise. They said the imagery and text used, including pills and syringes, were intended to symbolise transformation and synthetic enhancement, but that the campaign was intended to be surreal and tongue-in-cheek, and was not intended to reference real drug use or glamorise substance abuse. They said phrases such as “Take two and call us in the morning” and “// SIDE EFFECTS: MAY INCLUDE OBSESSION” were intended to fit within that fictional context, but not to promote irresponsible behaviour.
They said that they did not support, encourage, or glamorise drug use in any form, and they fully understood the importance of avoiding messaging that could be seen as promoting such behaviour. In light of this, they were reviewing how these particular creative elements may have been interpreted and were open to making amendments or adding contextual disclaimers in future campaigns to avoid misunderstanding.
Assessment
Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketing communications must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society, and that ads must not contain anything that was likely to cause serious or widespread offence.
The ASA considered that the subject line of the email “Take two and call us in the morning” including the pill emojis, referenced medical dosage instructions in a way that would be familiar to consumers. We further considered that the visual presentation of the syringe and the pink liquid in the branded “Koi” vial in the body of the email closely resembled drug paraphernalia and, alongside the wording “// SIDE EFFECTS: MAY INCLUDE OBSESSION”, directly linked Koi’s products to drug culture and use.
We noted Koi Footwear’s explanation that the ad was intended to be surreal and fictional, however, we considered that recipients of the email would interpret the syringe and language literally, as drug related. We considered that the depiction of the branded syringe, alongside a phrase mimicking medical advice, and a reference to its side effects including “OBSESSION”, trivialised drug use and glamorised the idea of addictive behaviour as an appealing or stylish trait.
In that context, we concluded that the ad condoned and encouraged drug use, and was therefore irresponsible, and likely to cause serious and widespread offence.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 1.3 (Social responsibility) and 4.1 (Harm and offence).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Koi Footwear Ltd to ensure that their marketing communications were prepared responsibly and did not include references to drugs or drug taking.
