For Goodness Shakes ‘masturbation’ ad banned
An ad for protein drink brand For Goodness Shakes has been banned for containing multiple visual references to masturbation.
The online video ad depicted multiple shots of men shaking objects within the region of their groins prompted complaints. The ad, hosted on its website and on You Tube, finishes with a scene where a man standing behind a woman “stops shaking abruptly” when he notices that something had landed on the woman’s back, he then tries to shake it off.
The video closed with an image of the pre-mixed protein shake in a bottle, as well as text that reads: ‘We shake for you’
The ASA acknowledged there was no overt sexual material in the ad but did not accept brand owner My Goodness’ defence that the ad was unlikely to cause widespread offence.
The ruling reads: “We noted that the final scene, which featured a man standing behind a woman in a lift, would be understood by adult viewers as indicating that the man had ejaculated onto the woman’s back.”
It goes on: “The video was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence amongst that audience [young males].
“However, we considered that many of the online channels hosting the video were likely to appeal to a wider audience who would find the references to public masturbation, and particularly to ejaculating on another person, offensive.”
