ASH slash ad cause for complaint

Clever poster advertising has always been the hallmark of the Silk Cut brand.

Clever poster advertising has always been the hallmark of the Silk Cut brand.

But one punter thought the creatives had gone too far when he spotted a poster showing a man’s torso with a stitched purple slash wound and the words ‘smoking causes heart disease’. Outraged, he immediately rang up the Advertising Standards Authority to complain.

But the ASA was able to put the concerned fellow’s mind at ease. The ad had been placed by the anti-tobacco lobbyist ASH (Action on Smoking & Health).

Had the conscientious member of the public read the poster – created by Rob DeCleyn and Simon Micheli through Leavold Pollard Rogan Advertising – in full, he would have seen the words “Warning: Health Warnings don’t work” and “ASH.”