ASA lashes Tesco over sado-masochist poster

Tesco has fallen foul of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for associating London’s Soho area with the sex industry in an ad campaign.

The ASA also ruled that the poster campaign, which features someone wearing sado-masochistic clothing, chained up outside a supermarket, was likely to cause serious and widespread offence.

The poster, advertising Tesco Metro, shows a person wearing rubber bondage clothing, including a face-mask and a neck collar. A chain attached to the neck collar is tied to a metal pole.

The ASA has upheld complaints about a press campaign for Seiko UK’s Breil watches, which shows a young woman holding a gun. Next to the gun is a rifle-range target in the form of a silhouetted head and torso. At the foot of the target are bullet holes, which spell out: “Don’t touch my Breil.”

According to the advertising watchdog, the ad glamorises guns and is irresponsible. The advertiser has been asked to change tack.

The ASA has not upheld complaints against a poster campaign for GlaxoSmithKline’s soft drink brand Lucozade Energy. The poster uses the tagline: “Brain energy in a bottle.”

The ASA says GSK has been able to prove that glucose and caffeine, both ingredients of the drink, could have a positive effect on mental performance, and therefore the ad is not misleading.