ASA looks into ‘D-Day slur’ complaints
A Grey London campaign for Unilever-owned Slim-Fast that featured five bikini-clad girls with the caption “We’ll fight them on the beaches” has triggered 11 complaints over making an offensive reference to D-Day, the Second World War Allied landings in Normandy. The Advertising Standards Authority is investigating.
The “Let’s Bikini” ad represents the first time that Slim-Fast has departed from its familiar television formula and instead is a fully integrated campaign incorporating print and outdoor advertising, celebrity PR and in-store displays.
The campaign also includes a series of teasers that lead to a website, www.lets-bikini.co.uk, which forms part of an initiative to get consumers to sign up to Slim-Fast. The plan offers Slim-Fast ready meals, soups, bars and shakes.
The ASA has upheld a complaint against another Grey London ad for AOL UK about the advertised speed of broadband access. The advertising watchdog has ruled that it exaggerated the facts because not all users achieve the maximum download speed of 1MB. It has advised AOL UK to consult the CAP Copy Advice team for future ads.
The ad features a drawing of a cheetah with running spikes on its feet and says: “Live faster with AOL’s new Broadband 1MB service…”
