Suggestive Advertising: The ASA balances the serious with the not-so-serious

This is all complicated, perhaps even aggravated, by the powerful visual forces of our hi-tech media, exposing consumers to an almost continuous barrage of aggressive and intrusive advertising.

Consider the health, beauty, fashion and fragrance industry's advertising. How dull, wimpish and lack-lustre would such advertising be without the strong positive images of near–perfect models flaunting flat ribbed abdominals, seductive curves and breathless beauty? How else would Calvin Klein promote his underwear for men but to use clean-shaven tanned models who have all the bulges in the right places?

It is against this background that the ASA recently, had to deal with complaints against two television commercials by two female complainants respectively. Their surnames suggest, although this may be a long shot, that their koeksusters and melktert would cause moral indigestion if eaten in the proximity of the commercials!

TBWA Hunt Lascaris had to defend a complaint that their "NIVEA SOFT" television commercial, which depicted a young women caressing herself and frolicking in the rain was offensive, smacked of soft porn, compounded with the perception that the model was underage. The ASA Directorate had little difficulty in dismissing the complaint as the model was not under 18 and the commercial was not aimed at children. More importantly there was no evidence that the ad caused widespread or sectoral offence and the fact that a particular advertisement may be offensive to some is not sufficient grounds to uphold an objection.

The ASA guidelines for offensive advertising considers the commercial's content, the medium, likely audience, nature of the products prevailing standards, degree of social concern and public interest.

The second complaint dealt with a television commercial for AXE deodorant which depicts a woman dancing with a coat stand after the product is sprayed on it. Fortunately the ASA Directorate sympathised with the light-hearted tongue-in-the-cheek format of the ad and found that the reasonable consumer would identify with the "over-the-top feel" of the commercial, and as such, was not to be taken seriously. In other words, there was no general danger that women would be persuaded to dance with hat stands if AXE was sprayed nearby thereby causing women to act immorally to the indignation of the self-righteous!

With respect the rulings are in line with international trends and that as an industry policeman, the ASA has to delicately balance, on the one hand, the need for good taste, decency, cultural dignity, and sectoral values with creative-light-heartedness and freedom of expression, on the other.

No offence is intended to the delicacies of the koeksuster sector but the message is clear: don't take commercials that seriously!