ASA bans Talk Radio’s ‘crude hand gesture’ advertisement

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A poster advertisement for Talk Radio featuring a crude hand gesture, denoting masturbation, has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority.

The ad through Walsh Trott Chick Smith, which prompted more than 30 complaints around the country, centred on the sale of soccer star Alan Shearer to Newcastle United for 15m. It showed one hand making a thumb’s up sign headed “Good Buy” , and another hand gripped in an O-shape headed “Good Bye”.

Other companies rapped in this month’s ASA report include coffee maker Paulig UK, which made unqualified claims for Lyons ground coffees in a magazine ad through Duckworth Finn Grubb Waters.

Budget airline company EasyJet and holiday company Airtours ran into trouble for running ads containing misleading information about ticket prices and savings respectively.

Computer games companies, which have repeatedly been criticised in the ASA’s reports, are again condemned for using violent and gory imagery in magazine ads.

The 3DO Company ran an ad picturing a pair of testicles and a brain, while Warehouse 32 used an image of an IT manager who had committed suicide to advertise an operating system.

Gametek used a picture of a man holding a hypodermic needle sitting on a pile of skeletons to promote one of its games. The ASA agreed the ad condoned a light-hearted attitude to the use of illegal drugs.

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