ASA takes Indesit to task over cooker ad

Indesit has been slammed by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over a TV ad for Hotpoint, showing a man putting his face on, and stroking, a cooker hob.

The ASA has upheld complaints that children might copy the character’s actions and be burnt, it has ruled that the ad cannot be shown when children are likely to be watching. Leith London created the campaign.

A Euro RSCG London TV ad for Reckitt Benckiser brand Calgon which suggested that the Midlands suffered from hard water and, as a result, 800 washing machines a day broke down cannot be shown again.

The ASA ruled that as some areas of the Midlands do not have hard water, the ad might encourage people to buy a product they did not need. It also challenged the breakdown figures.

The Carphone Warehouse’s home service TalkTalk Telecom, has had a complaint by rival BT upheld by the ASA. BT challenged claims in a press ad that its customers could talk free of charge “forever”. The ASA agreed, ruling that TalkTalk’s use of the word “free” was misleading.