ASA rejects claim against Cheerios ad
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has decided not to uphold a complaint filed by the Food Commission against a Cereal Partners UK print campaign for Nestlé Cheerios.
The Food Commission objected to the ad with the strapline “Good eating habits are easy to pick up”, on the grounds that the ad implies the cereal is a healthy cereal for all the family. It considers this misleading due to the cereal’s salt and sugar content. The ad features a small child reaching for a Cheerio.
The ASA agreed with Cereal Partners UK Рa joint venture between Nestl̩ and US food group General Mills Рthat consumers would assume that, like most manufactured foods, Cheerios contains salt and sugar.
vThe ASA has upheld complaints against a moving image poster for Buena Vista International’s Sin City film. The authority has ruled that images on the moving poster ad are “distressing, offensive, violent and unsuitable to be seen by children”.
Buttons needed to activate the moving sequences were placed higher than usual for such advertising, but the ASA has told Buena Vista not to repeat the approach. It has also told the company to seek advice from the CAP Copy Advice team before running similar advertising again.
vThe ASA has upheld complaints against a cinema ad for Canon cameras featuring young men running over rooftops and jumping across buildings.
It has ruled that the ad glamorises a dangerous practice that could be mimicked by children. Canon has been told to restrict the ad to media that cannot be seen by children or teenagers.
