Capital One ad gets time restriction
A television ad for Capital One’s credit card, in which a mermaid is seen showing off her hairdryer bought with the card and using it under water to create a stream of bubbles, has been banned from being shown until after the 9pm watershed owing to fears that children could copy the actions with potentially fatal consequences.
The Independent Television Commission (ITC) imposed the ban after receiving complaints from 31 viewers, of which three claimed that their children had remarked on the mermaid drying her hair under water or had wanted to use a hairdryer to blow bubbles.
In its latest Television Advertising Complaints report, the ITC also imposed a similar time restriction on the showing of an ad for the Action Man Samurai Mission range of toys, in which Action Man severs the arm of his opponent Dr X with a sword, after receiving two complaints that the scene was too violent for children.
The ITC imposed a &£60,000 fine on Shop America, a teleshopping channel, and a &£40,000 fine on its sister company You TV, for advertising code breaches. The ITC has invited its teleshopping licensees to a seminar on June 30 to discuss the future of the industry and the shape of its regulation.
