Advertising News

Mercedes-Benz has removed an ad featuring a Chinese model over a slanted eye deemed to be too steep.

Chinese social media has been engrossed in a debate over ads supposedly imposing Western beauty ideals for Asian women, including the usage of makeup to create stereotypical slanted eyes.

Mercedes-Benz has reportedly removed a recent video advertisement published on Chinese social network Weibo after the brand was criticized for doing up a model's face to give her exaggerated sloping eyes.

The Chinese Communist Party's Global Times reported on a hashtag that translates to Mercedes-Benz model's makeup is controversial had gained over 170 million views on Weibo.

The premise is that Chinese cannot let the West shape our aesthetics, wrote one critic, per Global Times. For those malicious slanderers, we should maintain sufficient vigilance and counter-attack.

Two online display ads, for the clothing retailer Diesel, seen in March 2021:

• a. The first ad, seen on the websites for the Independent newspaper and Sky News included a slide show of images of couples kissing, some open-mouthed and on beds, alongside the caption DIESEL FOR SUCCESSFUL LIVING.

• b. The second ad, appearing on the website for Sky News, included a video that automatically played. The video featured voiceovers from several people who described being apart from their romantic partner before getting back together. The video included shots of couples kissing and beginning to undress in sexual positions, including partners straddling each other in bed.

Three complainants challenged whether the ads were irresponsible, because they included overtly sexual imagery in an untargeted medium where they could be seen by children. Response

Diesel (London) Ltd responded that they did not consider that the Sky News or Independent newspaper websites were likely to be of a particular appeal to children, or that they would be likely to be seen by children.

ASA Assessment: Complaints upheld

The images and video in both ads (a) and (b) included open-mouthed kissing, couples on beds together and couples in intimate positions. The ASA considered that, whilst not sexually explicit, the images were sexually suggestive.

Because the images were sexually suggestive we considered that Diesal should have taken all reasonable steps to exclude children from the target audience. We therefore considered what steps Diesel had taken to ensure that the ads were targeted away from children.

We acknowledged that neither the Independent nor Sky News websites were of particular appeal to children, and that the websites were more likely to be viewed by adults. However, we considered that there were likely to be some children in the audience of both websites and that Diesel should therefore have used age and interest-based targeting tools to ensure that the ads were targeted to adults and away from children. We understood that Diesel had used some interest-based targeting options, but it was not clear that those choices would have been such that the ads would have been targeted towards adults and away from children. Furthermore, Diesel had confirmed that they did not use any age-targeting tools to target the ads away from children.

Because the ads included sexually suggestive imagery and Diesel had not taken all reasonable steps to ensure that they were not served to children, we concluded that the ads were irresponsible and breached the Code.

We told Diesel (London) Ltd to ensure that, if their ads contained sexually suggestive imagery, they took all reasonable steps to ensure that they were not seen by children.

Malaysia's Film Censorship Board (LPF) had sent a notice to two local TV stations instructing them that undergarments should not be shown regardless of it being worn by a model or a mannequin. The reason given was that any indecent visual displays, including advertising 'undergarments' will still offend the community.

A letter from the censors said:

The home ministry is of the view that the aforementioned content advertising innerwear is inappropriate to be shown for general viewing... and all broadcasts similar like this should be discontinued immediately.

Anna Har, co-founder of the Freedom Film Network, said the decision was unfortunate and yet another example of needless censorship in Malaysia. She said:

Since when are undergarments such an offensive item? They've been sold in pasar malams and supermarkets for years, this isn't pornography we're talking about.

Snickers in Spain has pulled a controversial TV advert after complaints from a few people who considered it homophobic'

The advert is one of a long running series showing strange characters getting back to normal after eating a Snickers.

In this case the strange character was the rather effeminate Spanish influencer Aless Gibaja who transformed into a regular masculine guy with a beard and low voice.

The video went viral this week, with some calling for a boycott of Snickers over homophobia, presumably because the masculine guy was depicted as an improvement on the effeminate guy.

The State Federation of Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals tweeted:

It is shameful and regrettable that at this point there are companies that continue to perpetuate stereotypes and promote homophobia.

Spain's equality minister, Irene Montero, also joined the criticism:

I wonder to whom it might seem like a good idea to use homophobia as a business strategy.

Our society is diverse and tolerant. Hopefully those who have the power to make decisions about what we see and hear in commercials and TV shows will learn to be too.

On Thursday, Snickers Spain said it was deleting the advert and apologised for any misunderstanding it may have caused. The company said:

In this specific campaign, the aim was to convey in a friendly and casual way that hunger can change your character. At no time has it been intended to stigmatize or offend any person or group.

Thailand's The Standard news website has reported that it could soon be possible to be fined 500,000 baht (£11,400) just for posting a picture of a glass of beer or wine. And 60-80% of that fine could go into the pocket of the police or authority that brought the prosecution.

Up to now private individuals can be fined 50,000 baht (£1150) for promoting or advertising alcohol. Now a draft amendment from the authorities is proposing this is increased to half a million baht.

Commercial entities are liable to larger fines, currently at 500,000 baht, but the proposals would see this rise to a full one million baht.

There is also a proposal to stop a kind of loophole that allows big firms to promote their products by referring to soda rather than beer. Eg the beer maker Singha advertises its bottled water brand with a logo that is also used for its beer.

In future just using the soda/water logo could be illegal and subject to the alcohol fines by association.

The new proposals are currently on public consultation until 9th July, although it is a little offputting that ID cards are required from those wishing to comment.

Following a public consultation, regulations will come into force at the end of next year to introduce a 9pm watershed for advertisements of foods high in fat, salt and sugar ( HFSS ).

The new rules apply to TV and UK on-demand programmes, as well as restrictions on paid-for advertising of HFSS foods online as part of the government's ongoing commitment to tackle unhealthy eating habits at source.

The watershed will apply from 9pm to 5.30am, meaning HFSS adverts can only be shown during these times.

In order to keep the restrictions proportional, these new regulations will apply to food and drink products of most concern to childhood obesity and will ensure the healthiest in each category will be able to continue to advertise. This approach means foods such as honey, olive oil, avocados and marmite are excluded from the restrictions.

The restrictions will apply to all businesses with 250 or more employees that make and/or sell HFSS products, meaning small and medium businesses will be able to continue advertising. The government recognises these companies may be some of the hardest hit by the pandemic and rely on online media as the sole way to communicate with their customers.

Online restrictions will be limited to paid-for advertising, ensuring brands can continue to advertise within 'owned media' spaces online; such as a brand's own blog, website, app or social media page.

Analysis from September 2019 demonstrated that almost half (47.6%) of all food adverts shown over the month on ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky1 were for products high in fat, salt and sugar, rising to nearly 60% between 6pm and 9pm. Ofcom research suggests that children's viewing peaks in the hours after school, with the largest number of child viewers concentrated around family viewing time, between 6pm and 9pm.

The measures set out today form part of our legislative response to tackling obesity. The government is committed to working alongside industry and will issue guidance to help them prepare for this transition.

Offsite Comment: The advertising industry is not impressed

25th June 2021. See article from adweek.com

Ad Industry Say UK Government HFSS Ban Is Set to Fail

The IAB, IPA, AA and ISBA all claim a ban will be ineffective in reversing childhood obesity rates