The ASA has found the Phones 4u ‘little girl’ adverts “unlikely to cause offence or be duly distressing” after receiving 601 complaints. They also considered Phones 4u to have “responsibly scheduled” its ‘Missing our deals will haunt you’ adverts.

Phones 4u launched its new £5.2 million ad campaign, featuring two TV spots, on the 1st October. The 30-second films parody horror movies whilst communicating a value-focused message. After reviewing the complaints regarding the content and scheduling of the ‘little girl’ advert, the ASA ruled that the ads “did not breach the code”.

Caspar Nelson, Phones 4u head of brand communications says: “We see the ASA’s ruling as an absolute triumph to creative and impactful advertising. The campaign has been extremely well received by a large audience who recognise the classic horror themes, get the Phones 4u sense of humour, and understand what our ads are trying to communicate.”

Nelson continues: “We’ve sought guidance from Clearcast throughout the campaign, and complied with all its recommendations regarding the appropriate scheduling of content targeted at young adults. We continue to receive positive feedback on the adverts across our social media channels and from customers and are chuffed that the scary little girl can live on within our TV sets!”