Napster ad banned on Underground
A Napster poster ad depicting five people frolicking on a bed has been banned by London Underground over concerns that it would offend commuters.
The poster, part of the music download company’s latest campaign, depicts five apparently naked people on a double bed with a duvet over them and has the strapline “Join an orgy of music”. It also encourages subscribers to “jump into bed with over 1,000,000 tracks”.
The execution is one of several featuring the Napster logo in different settings. Other ads in the campaign have been cleared for display on the Tube. The “orgy” ad will run as a press campaign and the poster will be used in other areas.
A spokesman for London Underground says: “We and Viacom declined to carry the ‘orgy’ execution because it may have caused offence to the travelling public.” He adds that as a public authority, the body that runs the Tube must consider the sensibilities of people using the underground.
Meanwhile, the Advertising Standards Authority has received a complaint regarding a different execution in the campaign because it uses a phrase adapted from the Lord’s Prayer. The ad shows the back of a topless woman in a changing cubicle with the phrase “Forever and ever and ever, Amen”. The ASA ruled that it would not cause serious offence.
