Ikea escapes ‘gnomes’ ad ban despite flurry of complaints

The latest Ikea ad, which features an army of angry gnomes readying an attack on a couple invading their space with garden furniture, has escaped an ad ban despite tens of complaints to the advertising watchdog it was scaring children.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9xROONPy6Y

The Mother-created ad, launched last month to push its summer range, instructs shoppers to “say no to Gnomes” in favour of new garden accessories.

Comments left on Marketingweek.co.uk about the ad included: “Terrible advert. Why do the gnomes need to be shattered? Too much violence. I was shocked” and “I was so upset by the unjust cruelty of this advert that I immediately searched for some forum where I could complain.”

The Advertising Standards Authority has received 40 complaints but has decided not to investigate.

A spokeswoman for the ASA says: “We carefully assessed the complaints, but considered that on balance there weren’t grounds to take action, because we don’t consider that it’s likely to cause serious or widespread harm or offence, or distress to children.”

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