ASA probes Lynx ‘mud wrestling’ ad

Unilever’s Lynx advertising campaign featuring women stripping off and mud wrestling is attracting complaints over the ads’ sexual content.

The Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH)-created television and cinema ad has so far attracted 11 complaints. A poster showing scantily clad models spelling out the words “Greed is Good” has led to 33 complaints. It has also been reported that several poster sites have been vandalised and covered in graffiti. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is investigating the complaints.

The number of complaints about another BBH-created ad continues to rise . The Barclays Bank execution shows a man being stung by a bee, falling in to a pond and being shot with a tranquilliser dart. Some 296 complaints had been made as Marketing Week went to press.

In adjudications this week the ASA has ruled that an ad for Garnier Nutrisse hair colour, which stars TV presenter Davina McCall, could not be shown during Big Brother programming.

Although the ad was aired during a Saturday night Big Brother show that did not feature McCall, the ASA says she is so closely associated with the series that showing the ad contravenes the Committee of Advertising Practice scheduling guidelines.

Complaints about a direct marketing campaign by Target Direct for baby charity Tommy’s have been upheld. The campaign featured a mock-up of an ultrasound scan of a baby and a letter from a mother whose baby had been stillborn. The ASA ruled that it was likely to cause undue fear or distress to recipients.