Connor_cbt
16-05-12, 16:54
Hi all,
I made a post a little while ago about the adverts that have been on tv of late.
I thought that they were unnecessarily scare-mongering and although carried an important message, the delivery was way off imo.
Anyhow I received a couple of emails regarding the complaint and today i was sent the final conclusion which i thought some of you may be interested to read.
Dear Mr *****,
Thank you for contacting the ASA.
We have assessed the ad and your complaint but consider that there are insufficient grounds for ASA intervention on this occasion. Our role as an organisation is to help ensure that advertising is legal, decent, honest and truthful. We can intervene if an ad that has been broadcast appears likely to be in breach of the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising by, for example, being likely to cause serious or widespread offence, being materially misleading or risking causing significant harm.
Whilst I appreciate your concerns, we consider that viewers in general will see these ads as warning people of the risks of ignoring symptoms that can be related to lung and bowel cancer, such as the ones displayed in the ads. Ads such as these are designed to be unsettling, in order to make their point and to encourage people to think about their health, and the health of others around them. We don’t discount the unease this type of advertising may cause but generally viewers accept that public health messages of this kind may be hard-hitting. We also note that the ads include statements such as “...it’s probably nothing serious” and “possible signs”. On this basis, in the context of an ad raising awareness of cancer, we consider this ad is unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence or cause harm for the reasons you suggest. As a result, we will not be taking any further action on this occasion.
I realise this outcome may disappoint you, however we will continue to monitor the public response to this ad.
Kind regards,
David Humber
David Humber
Complaints Executive
So in short, not enough people have complained... lol
It made me laugh that the little clauses he quoted seem to them to be enough of a counter-balance. I really dont believe you have to scare people into looking after their health and i doubt there is much evidence that its worked in the past, there is enough fear in our society, maybe medical facts should be presented as such and leave individuals to take responsibility for themselves.
I'd be interested to hear what you guys think about it :) maybe with your permission i could reply with some messages from you? in-box me if you would like me to forward your complaints on to him :D lol
I made a post a little while ago about the adverts that have been on tv of late.
I thought that they were unnecessarily scare-mongering and although carried an important message, the delivery was way off imo.
Anyhow I received a couple of emails regarding the complaint and today i was sent the final conclusion which i thought some of you may be interested to read.
Dear Mr *****,
Thank you for contacting the ASA.
We have assessed the ad and your complaint but consider that there are insufficient grounds for ASA intervention on this occasion. Our role as an organisation is to help ensure that advertising is legal, decent, honest and truthful. We can intervene if an ad that has been broadcast appears likely to be in breach of the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising by, for example, being likely to cause serious or widespread offence, being materially misleading or risking causing significant harm.
Whilst I appreciate your concerns, we consider that viewers in general will see these ads as warning people of the risks of ignoring symptoms that can be related to lung and bowel cancer, such as the ones displayed in the ads. Ads such as these are designed to be unsettling, in order to make their point and to encourage people to think about their health, and the health of others around them. We don’t discount the unease this type of advertising may cause but generally viewers accept that public health messages of this kind may be hard-hitting. We also note that the ads include statements such as “...it’s probably nothing serious” and “possible signs”. On this basis, in the context of an ad raising awareness of cancer, we consider this ad is unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence or cause harm for the reasons you suggest. As a result, we will not be taking any further action on this occasion.
I realise this outcome may disappoint you, however we will continue to monitor the public response to this ad.
Kind regards,
David Humber
David Humber
Complaints Executive
So in short, not enough people have complained... lol
It made me laugh that the little clauses he quoted seem to them to be enough of a counter-balance. I really dont believe you have to scare people into looking after their health and i doubt there is much evidence that its worked in the past, there is enough fear in our society, maybe medical facts should be presented as such and leave individuals to take responsibility for themselves.
I'd be interested to hear what you guys think about it :) maybe with your permission i could reply with some messages from you? in-box me if you would like me to forward your complaints on to him :D lol