Come Online & Play THE SEX ORGAN
I know you guys are thinking SPY posted this subject?????? I didn't make it up OK! I just don't know what to say here. I guess that I'm still in shock. Anyways, I though some of you guys might find this humorous, even though I should not encourage you guys.
http://www.asa.org.uk/adjudications/...es&issue_id=14
Quote:
Complaint:
Objections to two posters, for condoms, in the style of a magazine cover. Headline text on one poster stated "TROJAN BRAND CONDOMS OUT NOW ONLY £3.99 FOR 3"; underneath was a photograph of a woman with her eyes closed and her mouth open. The poster contained several magazine-style headlines that stated: "AMAZING! SECRETS OF SEXUAL PLEASURE REVEALED I've never tried anything like this before ..."; "IT'S the NEW MUST-TRY CONDOM It gives you both a lovely warm feeling"; "Come online & Play THE SEX ORGAN" and "NEW CONDOM SENSATION ... trojanpleasure.co.uk reveals all". The poster also featured a photograph of a packet of the product. Text across the bottom of the poster stated "PROTECTION PASSION TRUST". The second poster was identical but included a photograph of a man in the same pose. The complainants objected that the poster was offensive, demeaning to women, irresponsible and unsuitable for a medium that could be seen by children, particularly because it could promote promiscuity and might encourage them to view sexually explicit material on the advertisers' website. One complainant objected that the posters were irresponsible, because they could encourage criminal behaviour.
Codes Section: 2.2, 5.1, 47.1 (Ed 11)
Adjudication:
Complaints upheld
The advertisers said they wanted to get noticed and increase competition in the contraceptive industry. They said some people would always be offended by condom advertisements; they believed, however, their advertising had to make an impact in order to promote safer sex to young people. The advertisers believed the posters were a new way to promote condoms to the teenage market; their research had shown their target audience responded positively to their marketing. They did not believe the posters were offensive, because the text imitated headlines found on the covers of popular women's and teenagers' magazines. They said headlines such as "British Sex Uncensored"; "What Shocks a Man in Bed"; "The Secret World of Posh Swingers Parties"; "I Took my Husband's Prostitute to Lunch"; "What Men Crave Most in Bed" and "Mind Blowing Sex" had appeared on the covers of recently published magazines that were widely available throughout the country. The advertisers denied their campaign could encourage criminal behaviour. They did not believe the posters were irresponsible; the advertisers believed other condom manufacturers had done little to educate teenagers about protected sex and maintained it would be irresponsible to prevent them promoting the safer sex message to young people. They said they did not encourage promiscuity; they wanted only to encourage young people to have safer sex and buy Trojan condoms. The advertisers explained that they wanted to show people that protected sex could be pleasurable and had designed a new condom range to enhance lovemaking. They believed their approach promoted condom usage and would help to reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The advertisers said recently-published Government statistics revealed increases in STDs. They pointed out that the Department of Health "sex lottery" campaign had taken a humorous, provocative approach to advertise the dangers of unprotected sex.
The Authority considered that the posters were not demeaning to women or likely to encourage criminal behaviour. It acknowledged the advertisers wanted to promote safe sex and considered that the posters would not promote promiscuity. The Authority considered that the phrase "Come online & Play THE SEX ORGAN" could cause serious or widespread offence. It noted the advertisers' website did not contain overtly explicit material but did contain a link to a site that was unsuitable for people under 18 years of age. Because it considered that the claim "Come online & Play THE SEX ORGAN" was likely to cause serious or widespread offence and because the posters could encourage children to view sexually explicit material through the advertisers' website, the Authority considered that the advertisements were unsuitable for use with an untargeted medium. It told them not to repeat the claim "Come online & Play THE SEX ORGAN" and to ensure that, in future, references to their website were used only in targeted media.
