Background
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated both of which were Upheld.
Ad description
A leaflet, distributed around Aberdeen University campus on behalf of The Pearl Lounge, stated "VALENTINES FU*K FEST THURSDAY 16TH FEBRUARY GO HOME WITH A STRANGER! 70P BROKE BOMBS GET YOUR NUMBER AT THE DOOR LEAVE YOUR MESSAGES SEE MORE FU*KING THAN DAVID ATTENBOROUGH COULD HANDLE!".
Issue
Aberdeen City Council and a member of the public challenged whether the leaflet was:
1. offensive, because it featured sexually explicit material; and
2. irresponsible, because the text "GO HOME WITH A STRANGER" encouraged potentially unsafe practices.
Response
The Pearl Lounge said they did not support the message communicated in the leaflet. They also said it was not the promoter's intention to cause harm or offence but to create a tongue in cheek promotion aimed at students. They said the event was cancelled and all promotional material had been withdrawn. They also said they had since worked closely with Aberdeen City Council and student bodies to ensure similar risky promotions did not run again and that all future material for external events was proof read by the venue.
Assessment
1. Upheld
The ASA welcomed the advertiser's assurance that similar promotional material would not be distributed in future. We noted the ad stated "VALENTINES FU*K FEST... SEE MORE FU*KING THAN DAVID ATTENBOROUGH ..." and considered that, because it was clear from the use of asterisks in the words "FU*K" and "FU*KING" that they represented swear words, the ad was likely to cause serious or widespread offence to some readers.
On this point 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)
2. Upheld
We considered that the text "GO HOME WITH A STRANGER", in conjunction with the text "VALENTINES FU*K FEST" and "SEE MORE FU*KING THAN DAVID ATTENBOROUGH …" was likely to been seen as encouraging readers to go home with a stranger to have sex. We considered that, because this was a potentially unsafe practice, the ad was socially irresponsible. We therefore concluded that it breached the Code.
On this point the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 1.3 1.3 Marketing communications must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society. (Social responsibility) and 4.5 4.5 Marketing communications, especially those addressed to or depicting a child, must not condone or encourage an unsafe practice (see Section 5: Children). (Harm and offence).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form.
