ITV rapped over placement of ‘sexual’ Coty ads during family shows
The advertising watchdog has warned ITV to be more careful over the scheduling of its ads, ruling that it placed “mildly sexual” ads in a slot where they were too easily accessible to children.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Lx4jMxOg4E
The decision by the Advertising Standards Authority was prompted after a series of TV and VoD ads for Coty’s Just Cavali perfume range sparked 14 complaints about their “sexualised behaviour” and placement within airtime normally reserved for “family programming”.
The ads concerned featured a man and woman in various stages of undress in a series of executions the ASA acknowledged as containing “sexual tension”, given their depiction of a female model in her lingerie being pursued by a male model (see video).
Although the ads were given the rubber stamp by Clearcast with an ex-kids restriction, complainants alleged the ads could too easily be seen by children, given their screening during the programmes ‘Wild at Heart’ and ‘New You’ve Been Framed’.
The ASA did not uphold complaints over the ads’ “sexualised” content but did uphold complaints over broadcasters not taking adequate steps to prevent them appearing around programmes (i.e. ‘New You’ve Been Framed’) that were viewed by a “significant number of children”.
As a result the watchdog ruled the ads breached BCAP Code rules over scheduling and rebuked ITV.
The ruling reads: “We told ITV to take more care with the scheduling of ads in future.
