ASA to probe PSP ads after dozens of complaints

Sony’s 3m campaign for the PSP portable video games console has generated 44 complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The press and poster ads use wordplay to show that the PSP can be used to play videos and MP3s, store photos and surf the web. But members of the public have found four executions offensive. One reads "Strong language and scenes of a sexual nature here", and another says "Take a running jump here".

Sony has had to remove a poster featuring the latter tagline from the Forth Road Bridge after complaints from The Samaritans.

Complaints about a Fallon TV ad for Skoda have been rejected by the ASA. The ad, showing a woman jumping onto the roof of a moving train and climbing inside, attracted 37 complaints, including one from the Rail Safety and Standards Board. The ASA ruled that the ads are a "fantasy".

The ASA has upheld complaints about an anti-vivisection direct marketing campaign for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The ASA ruled the group could not back up all the claims it makes.