InstaVolt, a leading rapid electric vehicle charger network, has today announced a new partnership with Starling, the leading digital bank which will utilise its rapid charging network as a full service advertising channel from 5th July.

The branded wrap of 100 of InstaVolt’s nationwide chargepoints, on-screen advertising and incorporation within the digital app will be a first of its kind partnership, enabling Starling Bank to break into the emerging market of EV drivers. The relationship demonstrates Starling Bank’s commitment to further reducing its carbon footprint, as well as the growing popularity of electric vehicles, rapid charging and the value they now hold as an advertising channel.

As an added layer to the partnership, every time an InstaVolt customer pays with a Starling personal or business card in the InstaVolt app – whether that’s through a prepayment or credit account – Starling will plant a tree through Trillion Trees.

InstaVolt’s Chief Executive Officer Adrian Keen said: “We’re delighted to announce this new collaboration with Starling – a bank that is challenging traditional practice and has committed itself to becoming fully net-zero. We’re proud to support them on this journey and will be proactive in our efforts towards helping them reach a new breed of consumer.

“The partnership demonstrates the potential that EVs and charging network points offer UK businesses as we head toward net zero targets, and is indicative of growing consumer appetite for hybrid and EV options as the climate change issue becomes more urgent.”

Anne Boden, founder and CEO of Starling Bank said: “We know that many of our customers care deeply about the environment. InstaVolt is a driving force in electric vehicle charging and our partnership fits perfectly with that.”

Starling Bank is currently undertaking a carbon emissions audit in order to further reduce its carbon footprint and offset emissions. In March 2021, Starling became the first UK bank to start issuing Mastercard debit cards made from recycled plastic, giving customers a greener way to pay.

InstaVolt is one of the country’s leading EV charge point networks. The brand’s technology delivers rapid charge via a simple, contactless payment and doesn’t require a customer subscription. The 120 kW charge points can add 220 miles of range in half an hour.

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As lock down begins to ease, so are agencies and brands beginning to become more comfortable with the idea that a sense of business normality is returning, but it is not without its pitfalls. The way we work as well as the manner in which we work has undergone a tremendous overhaul and brands are more acutely aware than ever that now, more so perhaps than ever before, mistakes could be dramatic.

The brand that is seen to be ‘cashing in’ or not appearing to be sensitive to the current climate will suffer. The phrase ‘read the room’ has never been more accurate.

Which puts this webinar delivered exclusively for the IPM by creative strategists Studio Black Tomato up there with the most important webinars you’ll hear all year. Entitled “How to Sell With Sensitivity” it covers the topic of brands that are worried to be seen as crass, insensitive and misjudging consumer sentiment and equips IPM Members with the tools to continue to sell creatively with this in mind.

Key messages

• Now is the time to move on from apologetic COVID marketing.
• Examples of historic times when similar things have happened and how brands have reacted.
• The need to start being creative again.
• How you balance that with sensitivity.
• How to be more human / emotional with your promotions.
• How brands can find the message that is right for them.

Wednesday 15/07/20 14.30 30 mins + Q&A.

Places will be limited so please contact: membership@theipm.org.uk to book your slot.

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UK adspend rose 5.8% year-on-year to reach £6.0bn in Q2 2019, marking UK advertising’s 24^th consecutive quarter of market growth. Adspend over the first six months of 2019 was 5.2% higher than a year earlier, at £12.0bn. These figures are contained within today’s Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure Report, which is unique in its collection of advertising spend data from across the entire media landscape.

The report shows adspend growth for 2019 is forecast to rise 5.0% and reach £24.7bn, with the UK’s ad market expected to grow a further 5.3% in 2020. The predicted full year growth figure for 2019 is an upgrade of 0.4 percentage points on the figure forecast at the last release of adspend data in July this year.

Overall market growth is being driven by increased spend on online advertising, which saw rises across most formats. Digital ad formats for radio broadcasters witnessed a year-on-year rise of 15.9% and online national newsbrands recorded growth of 15.6% over the same period. Digital out of home – not included in online totals – experienced growth of 17.2%.

The report reveals particularly strong growth in Q2 2019 compared to Q2 2018 in TV video on demand (VOD) and cinema. TV VOD saw an increase of 20.0% in Q2 2019 while cinema recorded a very impressive rise of 49.6%. The sector benefited from the entry of a number of new advertisers in comparison to the same period in 2018, boosting growth substantially.

Stephen Woodford, Chief Executive, Advertising Association, said: “These very encouraging adspend figures for Q2 2019 cover the period immediately following the original Brexit date of March 29, demonstrating the continued strength of UK advertising during a time of political uncertainty. Advertising’s dynamism is shown by the growth recorded across many different formats, with particularly impressive performances from cinema, TV VOD and online radio. These figures are positive for our industry and are good indicators of the resilience of the UK economy. However, with another scheduled Brexit departure date looking likely to be passed on 31 October, we are acutely conscious of industry’s desire for the clarity and needed to continue investing for the future during these uncertain times.”

James McDonald, Managing Editor at WARC, said: “An upgrade to our 2019 projection of almost half a point is reflective of stellar online growth, as well as over-performance for a number of traditional channels against the expectations we laid out in July. There is little in the data we receive from media owners across the industry to suggest an impending downturn, but growth cannot be taken for granted while economic prosperity remains in the balance.”

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The 2019 Effie Europe winners were announced in La Madeleine in Brussels on 15th October. McCann Worldgroup won the Agency of the Year Award, as well as the Grand Effie for their outstanding campaign ‘Like Brands’ 2011-2018.

The winners were selected by an international jury of senior agency and client representatives co-chaired by Bastien Schupp, Vice President, Global Brand Strategy and Marketing Communication at Groupe Renault and Harjot Singh, Chief Strategy Officer, Europe & UK at McCann Worldgroup.

Bastien Schupp, Vice President, Global Brand Strategy and Marketing Communication at Groupe Renault, said: “While most of us push to get the most creative campaigns out there, the only thing that really counts is their effectiveness. I am honoured to chair the jury of this prestigious award and look forward to reviewing powerful cases with my fellow marketers!”

Harjot Singh, Chief Strategy Officer, Europe & UK at McCann Worldgroup, added: “Effectiveness is the only measure of the value of our work. As the landscape of our industry changes and broadens the discourse on effectiveness must keep pace. It must be dynamic. The Effies are the most definitive, credible and recognized standard of the most compelling effectiveness stories for our industry. The new changes to the Effie program and the new categories that have been introduced as a result are all very exciting and timely. They have been made possible by the relentless hard work and deliberation from all members of the steering committee and I am very excited to see it all come to life in 2019.”

McCann Worldgroup scooped the Agency of the Year award, as well as the prestigious Grand Effie for their outstanding ‘Like Brands’ 2011-2018 campaign for Aldi UK. An instant hit and a long-running success, Aldi UK aired over 100 Like Brands ads, and exported the idea to USA, Australia and Ireland. Yet, the real success of Like Brands laid in reversing Aldi’s fortunes, winning it a special place in the hearts of UK shoppers by transforming consumer attitudes to private label.

Click here to see the full list of winners.

The Effie Europe – Steering Committee has met for the second time around the Effie Awards Gala celebrations to help steer the overall programme, providing guidance across all programme areas, such as the call for entry, learning initiatives, awards gala, categories and more. The organiser has the pleasure to announce the new committee members: Achim Rietze, Strategy Lead ZOO EMEA at Google; Vasileios Kourakis, Global Director Marketing ROI Consumer Products Division at L’Oréal and Szymon Gutkowski, Managing Director at DDB Warszawa.

The Effie Awards Europe are organised by the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA) in partnership with Facebook, Procter & Gamble, The European Publishers’ Council, WARC, Adforum.com, European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance (EDAA) & Viva Xpress Logistics.

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Nikky Day, Senior Content Executive at Brass Agency, shares how brands’ attempts in challenging traditional advertising techniques can become another cliché.

Okay, okay so breaking the fourth wall isn’t exactly a ground-breaking concept, Charlie Chaplin and Ollie Hardy have been doing it since black and white telly.

But in the last 20 years or so, brands like John Smiths and Oasis have been directly and knowingly addressing audiences in ads. More recently, marketing giants like Doritos and Innocent have had a pop at anti-advertising, and it seems to be working.

Doritos’ stripped back “anti-ad” aims to appeal to an advertising-averse generation

[youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbwoKm5U0tM” width=”500″ height=”300″]

Doritos embraced the anti-advertising movement in their latest campaign, inspired by a Gen Z audience who don’t respond to overt advertising. They are the Netflix generation who are more familiar with ad free experience than anyone else, and brands like Doritos are looking for new ways to appeal.

The 60 second ad ran alongside a series of out-of-home ads that were too free of logos, gimmicks and branding as part of Doritos’ ‘Another Level’ campaign. They also removed logos from all social media channels for the duration of the campaign and changed their Twitter handle to @Logo_Goes_Here. The official website URL even changed to thelogogoeshere.com.

The campaign seems to have gone down well, with fans of the snack describing the ad as ‘brilliant’ and ‘mind-blowing’ on Twitter.

The strong visual brand language paired with iconic colour cues and product shape made this a clear choice for Doritos. And with 75% of social media users agreeing that ads are taking over their feeds, it seems a lot of us are increasingly drawn to simpler messaging.

Innocent Smoothies are the latest brand to mock celebrity endorsements

[youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmNQ4xmWcVQ&t=21s” width=”500″ height=”300″]

They’re not the first by any means. Remember the 1993 John Smiths ad with Jack Dee? Brands have been taking the p**s out of celebrity endorsements for years. Innocent cleverly chose Duncan from Blue to promote their new blue (or is it green?) smoothie following an online debate about the colour of the drink.

Full of outtakes, Blue references and background nods to Duncan’s financial situation, this is an admirable example of reactive marketing. Becoming part of the online conversation gives Innocent authority to sell a product whilst simultaneously mocking it.

Funny ads have also been proven to positively affect people’s ability to recall a brand or product, so pairing humour with a celebrity willing to laugh at himself was a winning formula for Innocent.

The ad has seen a positive response on Twitter too.

BrewDog make a splash for all the wrong reasons

[vimeo url=”:https://vimeo.com/335391975″ width=”500″ height=”300″]

Remember it? The “most honest ad you’ll ever see” from BrewDog aired in some of the most expensive TV ad slots including Game Of Thrones, The FA Cup Final and First Dates. And it’s fair to say that not everyone responded positively.

BrewDog claim they don’t want their consumers to live in a world of ‘lame advertising’, but as it turns out, many of them thought the ad was both annoying (41%) and boring (30%).

The brand brag about the slim production budget that went into making this ad, reflecting the brand mentality of rejecting the mainstream and embracing the alternative. But it’s clear that consumers do appreciate quality as they describe the ad as ‘horrendous’ and ‘absolutely sh*te’.

Others have claimed the ad is pretentious and inauthentic, which wildly conflicts with BrewDog’s original intentions.

At this point, it’s arguable that the sarcastic “tell it how it is” approach to advertising is in danger of becoming a cliché within itself with more and more brands jumping on the trend. It is definitely one to keep a close eye on in the next couple of years.

The post Brands: Beware poking fun at traditional advertising appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

UK ad spend rose 4.2% year-on-year to reach £6.0bn in Q1 2019, marking the 23^rd consecutive quarter of market growth and covering the three-month period leading up to the original scheduled Brexit date of March 29, 2019. The figures highlight growth coming from areas including search, online display, TV VOD, online radio, out-of-home and cinema, are contained in today’s Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure Report, which is unique in its collection of advertising spend data from across the entire media landscape.

The report forecasts growth to £24.6bn for 2019, equivalent to a 4.6% increase, with the UK’s ad market expected to grow a further 5.3% in 2020.

Online advertising expenditure performed notably across a number of formats, with online radio seeing standout year-on-year growth of 26.5% in the first quarter. TV VOD achieved an increase of 17.5% in the same period, while total online display saw an increase of 16.6%. Digital out of home also experienced a good Q1 with growth of 10.9%.

These figures reflect the recent Advertising Pays 7 report from UK advertising’s think tank, Credos, which demonstrated how Britain is the largest online advertising marketplace in Europe and that the UK has the highest per capita online spend in the G20, boosting businesses up and down the country.

Across traditional formats, cinema saw respectable growth of 12.3% in Q1 2019 versus Q1 2018. Growth is forecast for 2019 across the majority of formats, with the greatest increases predicted in online radio and TV VOD.

Stephen Woodford, Chief Executive at the Advertising Association, said: “These figures are testament to the resilience of UK advertising during an uncertain period for business, leading up to the original Brexit date. We see online advertising in all its forms continuing to perform strongly, demonstrating again how the UK is Europe’s leading online advertising marketplace. We hope that the new administration can deliver a business-friendly outcome to our relationship with the EU, ensuring the UK’s domestic advertising market remains robust and our advertising exports, which are world-class, keep growing.

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This March, the Advertising Association – alongside partners from its Promote UK group, including the Department for International Trade (DIT) and the IPA – is coordinating the biggest effort yet to showcase UK advertising services to international audiences. Dubbed Export Month, it will feature a wide programme of activity with the aim of promoting the UK’s advertising services to key markets around the world.

Landmark moments already planned for the month-long celebration include:

• The first annual UK Ad Exports Report – With research from the advertising industry’s think tank Credos, the report will track the performance of the UK advertising industry and will highlight the latest figures for exports of ad services – an area where the country has traditionally performed strongly. The report will measure the country’s recent exports performance; feature case studies from advertising services exporters; and gauge industry sentiment as the UK leaves the EU.
• Shanghai International Advertising Festival (SHIAF) – Taking place from 4-8 March, SHIAF will feature a unique forum to highlight UK advertising expertise to Chinese brand marketers. A delegation of UK agencies and production companies, led by Promote UK chair, Janet Hull and Advertising Association Chief Executive, Stephen Woodford, will be heading to Shanghai to meet Chinese agency peers and brands and explore new opportunities to grow links and business. In a further show of the UK advertising presence, the festival, now in its second year, will include an increased number of judges, entries and speakers from the UK across the week.
• South by Southwest (SXSW) – For the first time, UK advertising will have its own day at SXSW, taking over the British Music Embassy on 8 March in activity backed by DIT. Curated by the IPA as part of its Promote UK work, a variety of UK businesses will be presenting to festival-goers on their areas of creative expertise. Companies taking part include Hey Human, System One, Karmarama, Crowd, and Iris. The ensuing trade show on 10-13 March will include demonstrations of global campaigns that UK businesses have created for clients from around the world.
• APA’s Tokyo-London Forum 2019 – Supported by DIT, the Advertising Producers Association (APA) will be taking a delegation of companies to Japan, the third largest advertising marketing in the world between March 11-14. Around 40 companies from the industry will meet with senior leaders from Japanese agencies and showcase skills in advertising production and post-production.
• Advertising Week Europe – This year, Europe’s key gathering of marketing and communications leaders will be taking place from 18-21 March, just over a week before the scheduled date for Brexit. The Advertising Association, in partnership with DIT and the IPA, will be hosting one of the week’s highly anticipated Breakfast Leadership events at Ronnie Scott’s on 19 March. The topic of discussion will be how UK advertising can work together to build exports in a post-Brexit landscape, support the UK Government’s soft power strategy and contribute to the wider trade agenda.
• Cannes Lions UK competition – The annual search for UK advertising professionals to represent the country in the global Young Lions finals in Cannes this summer will launch in March. Backed by the Advertising Association, Department for International Trade, Channel 4, Clear Channel, Framestore and M&C Saatchi, the competition will identify UK’s rising creative talent to do battle on the world stage.
• Export Accelerator – Recruitment of test users will open in March for a new online resource funded by the Department for International Trade to help UK advertising businesses create their export strategy. It will be a one stop shop with advice on how to do more effective business overseas as well as listing upcoming opportunities to attend overseas markets and missions.
• Celebrating excellence in exports – All UK advertising businesses will be encouraged to share their exporting stories across the industry and to contribute to Export Month with their own activities.
• Promote UK Year One celebrations – Export Month’s end date coincides with the first-year anniversary of the formation of Promote UK, a group designed to support the UK advertising industry’s export ambitions. The month will culminate in a celebration of the group’s achievements in its first twelve months.

Stephen Woodford, Chief Executive, Advertising Association, said: “The UK stands at an important crossroads in its relationship with the EU and the rest of the world. Export Month will act as a celebration of what we do best in UK advertising – a multi-national workforce servicing a global client-base via a winning combination of creativity, innovation and technological expertise. This programme will showcase these strengths like never before and we welcome all those businesses with export ambitions to join in.”

Janet Hull, Chair of the Promote UK group and Director of Marketing Strategy, IPA, commented: “A tremendous amount of effort, from industry and from UK government, is coming together in March as we showcase UK advertising services around the world. I’m hugely proud of the work being done and believe that this is just the start of what we can all do as an industry to build a strong trading future for our creative industries.”

All businesses interested in taking part in Export Month can contact Promote UK via the Advertising Association and join in on social channels using #CreativityIsGREAT.

The UK is an advertising exporting powerhouse, with British advertising services worth £5.8 billion according to the last available figures for 2016. The figures showed an increase of 35% and the UK’s balance of payments surplus for advertising was the biggest in Europe – £2.9 billion. The UK also wins more Cannes Lions advertising awards per capita than any other country, with over 1,500 won since 2005 and leads the way for the best creative and most effective advertising campaigns.

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Generation Z accepts ads, but will ignore the ones that don’t deliver tangible value, says Vaughan Edmonds at global brand experience agency Sense.

It’s 10 April 2018, and a nervous Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, stands before the US Congress. It’s the turn of 84-year-old US senator and Republican high-tech task force chair Orrin Hatch to ask the questions.

Facebook is at the centre of a scandal after it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica, a British data firm hired by President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, improperly gathered detailed data on 87 million users using the platform. Zuckerberg has just told Congress that he always intends to offer a free version of Facebook to users.

“Well if so,” Hatch replies, “how do you sustain a business model in which users don’t pay for your service?”

Zuckerberg blinks and pauses for a moment.

“Senator, we run ads.”

The exchange, along with others involving various elderly Senators, has become symbolic of the technological knowledge gap that exists in Western society. A video titled “Mark Zuckerberg explains the internet to old people” went viral in the days following Zuckerberg’s visit to Congress as members of the Millennial and Gen Z demographics revelled in the ignorance of their elders.

The attitudes of Gen Z towards technology and advertising are particularly fascinating. Also known as the iGen, Gen Z is the generation born from the late 1990s onwards which has never known a world without the internet.

Its oldest members have just turned 21 and have grown up alongside dominant tech companies like Facebook. They are used to a world where platforms are cheaper than ever before. Their favourite brands – Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat – offer their services for free. Where we used to buy a single CD for £9.99, they can now listen to any song ever recorded for nothing on Spotify. Only Netflix draws the line, offering an array of TV and film for as little as £7.49 a month.

For the free services, Gen Z knows the price it has to pay: ads. Just as Mark Zuckerberg said.

What gets really interesting is the attitude of Gen Z towards advertising in general, with 61% agreeing that posters and billboards help them become aware of new products and services¹. Gen Z is also 37% more likely to notice adverts on public transport² and 15% more likely to stop and interact at a promotional stand or event³. It seems as if the recent wave of cynicism towards brands has not been driven by the young, but by the generations that preceded them.

What does this mean for brands? Only time will tell. It remains to be seen whether this more accepting attitude to advertising is driven by youth or by a genuinely different outlook. However, it appears highly likely that Gen Z will take two traits from its youth into adulthood which could be highly significant for brands:

Shortening Attention Spans

According to most research, the attention span of Gen Z is lower than any other generation in history. In our digital age this makes perfect sense. There is so much vying for our attention and, in terms of things to occupy us, we are spoilt for choice. For brands, this has important implications. Firstly, to attract Gen Z, your marketing has to be interesting. Better still, if you really want to get this generation’s attention, your marketing should be useful. Gen Z is bombarded by hundreds of promotional messages every day. If a brand can offer something that is genuinely valuable it is far more likely to give you a precious piece of its attention.

Increased Levels of Activism

Gen Z is serious. Its members are driven to succeed, being 71% more likely to be willing to sacrifice free time to get ahead in their future careers⁴. They are also serious about social change with 76% of them happy to volunteer their time for good causes⁵. Gen Z members are activists. They strive to improve their own lives and the lives of people around them.

The last few years has seen the rise of purpose as a marketing tool, the mechanic brands use to demonstrate that they also care about improving people’s lives. Given the attitudes of Gen Z, it seems it is here to stay. To succeed with brand purpose, and to win the hearts of Millennials and Gen Z alike, the key is action. Brands must not just talk about their purpose, they must demonstrate their purpose through action in the real world. If they can make their purpose tangible, they will be able to win the hearts of Gen Z.

The world has changed a great deal in the lifetime of 84-year-old Senator Orrin Hatch. When Mark Zuckerberg was born, Hatch was in his early 50s and by the time Facebook had its millionth user he was 70. However, for the members of Gen Z, the world has been slightly more stable. They are digital natives, born and raised in the age of the internet. They are used to brands keeping their favourite digital past times free at the cost of adverts. Gen Z is quick thinking and serious. It has a different outlook to those who came before them and as its members mature into adulthood, brands will have a fantastic opportunity to become meaningful parts of their lives.

Source: ^1,2,3,4,5 YouGov (29^th April 2018)

Vaughan Edmonds is Planner at global brand experience agency Sense. Sense is a brand experience agency specialising in real world thinking and ideas. Sense manages experiential marketing campaigns from strategy to evaluation for clients including The Economist, Coca-Cola, Activision, Mars, Canon, Molson Coors, and Mattel.

Image credit: Elijah O’Donnell, Unsplash

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KFC’s ‘Dancing Chicken’ ad – featuring a chicken dancing to rap music — was the ad which generated the most consumer complaints in 2017, according to the Advertising Standards Authority’s Top 10 ranking of the year’s most complained about ads.

The KFC commercial triggered 755 complaints, mainly on the grounds that it was disrespectful to chickens and distressing for vegetarians, vegans and children, since it depicted a chicken who was heading for slaughter. The ASA ruled it was unlikely that the ad would cause distress or serious or widespread offence, as there were in fact no explicit references to animal slaughter.

In total, the ASA received 29,997 complaints during 2017. All the ads on 2017’s Top 10 list had one common thread – they were all challenged on the grounds of offence. The ASA points out that while the reason why most ads get complained about is that they are misleading – the issue in 73% of cases in 2017 — but misleading cases are much less likely to attract multiple complaints.

ASA Chief Executive Guy Parker says: “Tackling misleading ads continues to be the bread and butter of our work, but 2017 again showed that it is ads that have the potential to offend that attract the highest numbers of complaints. But multiple complaints don’t necessarily mean that an ad has fallen on the wrong side of the line: we look carefully at the audience, the context and prevailing societal standards informed by public research before we decide.”

The decision as to whether an ad is likely to cause offence is made by the 12 members of the ASA Council, following detailed investigation by ASA staff. The Council acts as a jury to decide whether to uphold complaints against ads on the grounds of causing ‘serious or widespread offence’. When making that judgement, the ASA considers several factors: the audience likely to see the ad, the context in which the ad appears, and prevailing societal standards. The ASA also commissions research into the public’s attitudes to, and understanding of, certain ad themes to help inform the decisions it makes and where the line should be drawn.

While many of 2017’s most complained about ad campaigns were seen across a range of media – for example social media, magazines, and companies’ own websites – television ads triggered the most complaints, demonstrating the continuing effectiveness of the medium at hitting mass audiences.

Two of the ads are from campaigns that also featured in 2016’s Top Ten list, meaning these campaigns have continued to court controversy over two years (Match.com and Maltesers). One of the campaigns has been on the list for three years in a row (Moneysupermarket.com).

In response to complaints reported in the media, two ads were quickly removed by the advertisers (Dove and McDonald’s) without the need for further ASA action. The ASA decided each of the remaining eight ads had not crossed the line on offensiveness, so the complaints were not upheld.

2017’s most complained about ads are:

1 Kentucky Fried Chicken (Great Britain) Ltd

755 Complaints – Not upheld

This year, KFC’s ad, featuring a chicken dancing to a rap soundtrack, received complaints that it was disrespectful to chickens and distressing for vegetarians, vegans and children, since it depicted a chicken who was heading for slaughter. The ASA ruled it was unlikely that the ad would cause distress or serious or widespread offence as there were no explicit references to animal slaughter.

2 Moneysupermarket.com Ltd

455 Complaints – Not upheld

This Moneysupermarket.com ad campaign also featured in the ASA’s Top Ten list for 2015 and 2016. Like many of the ads in the same campaign, 2017’s ad re-featured the two #epicsquads – the strutters and the builders – and a new female character.

Many found the ad to be offensive on the grounds that it was overtly sexual and possibly homophobic. The ASA thought the character’s movements would generally be seen as dance moves and not in a sexual context. It also thought most viewers would recognise the ad’s intended take on humour. It ruled it was unlikely to condone or encourage harmful discriminatory behaviour.

3 Unilever UK Ltd (Dove)

391 Complaints – Not investigated; ads removed         

Dove produced a series of ads that contained statistics and opinions about breastfeeding in public. The ads were featured across magazines, social media, and Dove’s own website. Many criticised the language, such as “put them away”, as it might encourage criticism of breastfeeding. Some were also concerned that the ads might encourage neglecting crying babies. After listening to the public, Dove issued an apology and subsequently pulled the ads and amended their website.

4 Match.com International Ltd

293 Complaints – Not upheld

Match.com’s ad, starring a lesbian couple kissing passionately, appears again in our list of most complained about ads. The ASA received similar complaints last year, when it was number three on our list, about whether the ad was too sexually explicit for children to see. It ruled then that the ad did not cross the line.  Over the two years, the ad has attracted almost 1,200 complaints.

5 McDonald’s Restaurants Ltd

256 Complaints – Not investigated; ads removed

McDonald’s produced a TV ad featuring a boy and his mother talking about his dead father. From the conversation, the boy became visibly upset as he found few similarities between him and the father that his mother described. Ultimately, he found comfort when she told him that both he and his father loved McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish burger. The ad attracted criticism that it was trivialising grief, was likely to cause distress to those who have experienced a close family death and was distasteful to compare an emotive theme to a fast food promotion. The fast food chain issued an apology and pulled the ads.

6 RB UK Commercial Ltd (V.I.Poo)

207 Complaints – Not upheld

A fictional Hollywood starlet shares her best kept secret on how to maintain good toilet etiquette – by using the V.I.Poo spray, an air freshener. Many people found the discussion of going to the toilet unsavoury. The ASA ruled that the ad was a light-hearted way of introducing the product and didn’t consider its reference to the “devil’s dumplings” likely to break its rules on offence.

7 DSG Retail Ltd (Currys PC World)

131 Complaints – Not upheld

This was a TV ad about spending Christmas in front of the TV. The Currys PC World ad showed a set of parents telling their children that they would like to celebrate Christmas “traditionally” this year by sitting by the fire, signing carols and having long conversations. The mother then laughed at the visibly upset children and explained it was a joke. She led the family to the next room to show them a new Oleg TV that her employer, Currys PC World, had allowed her to bring home and test. Complainants believed the ad was offensive because it promoted materialism and equated Christmas with watching TV instead of Christianity.

The ASA thought the ad was light-hearted and was meant to be humorous. It understood the allusions to consumerism might be perceived to be in bad taste by some, but considered it was unlikely to cause serious offence. The ad did not ridicule or denigrate Christians or Christianity, so was unlikely to offend on those grounds.

8 Telefonica Ltd (O2)

125 Complaints – Not upheld

O2’s ad about free screen replacements stirred complaints when it featured two men kissing and breaking one of the couple’s phone screens when he was pressed onto a table by the other man. Many felt the scene was too sexually explicit and scheduled inappropriately at times when children were likely to be watching. Some also felt the portrayal of a same-sex relationship was offensive to their religious beliefs.

The ASA noted that the scene in question was brief and did not contain any graphic or overly sexual imagery.  It ruled that it did not require a scheduling restriction and the depiction of a gay couple would not cause serious or widespread offence,

9 Macmillan Cancer Support

116 Complaints – Not upheld

A TV ad for Macmillan Cancer Support included fast-moving scenes of a father talking to his daughter, receiving chemotherapy, vomiting in a sink, sitting slumped in a bath, and crying in a car before being comforted by a nurse. People complained that the imagery was overly graphic and distressing to viewers. Though the ASA understood some of the scenes, particularly the one in which the man vomited, were distressing to some viewers, it believed they served to illustrate the reality of living with cancer. The storyline of the ad and the service that Macmillan Cancer Support was advertising provided context. The ASA believed it addressed the serious nature of the illness appropriately. Furthermore, scheduling restrictions meant it wouldn’t be shown around children’s programmes.

10 Mars Chocolate UK Ltd (Maltesers)

92 Complaints – Not upheld

And finally, Maltesers appears in ASA’s top 10 list for a second year.

Many continued to find the featured woman, who described having a spasm during a romantic encounter with her boyfriend, to be offensive and overly sexual. Some also felt it was offensive to portray the woman, who was in a wheelchair, in this manner.

The ad had already been given a post-9pm scheduling restriction, which we considered sufficient as most viewers are aware that advertising content after 9pm might include more adult themes. In instances when the ad was seen earlier in the day, the ad was seen around adult-themed programmes, such as Made in Chelsea and The Inbetweeners, and was unlikely to be considered to have been inappropriately scheduled.

The ASA ruling said it found the women’s conversation to be light-hearted and didn’t think the allusion to the woman’s romantic encounter would cause serious or widespread offence. On the matter of portraying the woman in a wheelchair in this manner, it believed the ad was championing diversity and did not think that it denigrated or degraded those with disabilities.

The ASA is the independent regulator of advertisements across all media in the UK. It does so in the public interest and with the co-operation of advertisers, agencies and media owners who are committed to observing the Advertising Codes, otherwise known as the CAP Codes. The CAP Codes are drawn up by the Committee of Advertising Practice.

The Institute of Promotional Marketing, the UK marketing trade body for promotions which owns www.promomarketing.info, is a stakeholder in CAP and an integral part of the UK’s self-regulatory system for advertising and marketing. The IPM promotes the CAP Codes in its world-renowned education and training programmes, and in its annual IPM Awards – any entry which breaks the CAP Codes is disqualified.

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The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP), the body which writes the rules which govern UK advertising and marketing communications, has announced that a new rule will be introduced into the UK Advertising Codes in 2018 to ban harmful gender stereotyping.

Last year, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the body which administers the UK Advertising Codes, published a report into harmful gender stereotyping in advertising, Depictions, Perceptions and Harm. This provided an evidence-based case for stronger regulation of ads that feature stereotypical gender roles or characteristics which can be harmful to people, including ads which mock people for not conforming to gender stereotypes.

Ella Smillie from CAP (pictured) announced the planned new rule yesterday in Cardiff ahead of a reception at the Wales Millennium Centre with Julie James AM, the Minister responsible for Equalities in the Welsh Government. Smillie said: “Some gender stereotypes in ads can contribute to harm for adults and children by limiting how people see themselves, how others see them, and potentially restricting the life decisions they take. The introduction of a new advertising rule from 2018 will help advertisers to know where to draw the line on the use of acceptable and unacceptable stereotypes.”

Smillie added: “We’ll set out our proposed new standards in Spring 2018 and openly consult on them. That’s why I’m pleased to be in Cardiff at an event with the Welsh Minister responsible for Equalities, Julie James AM, to invite the Welsh public policy community to engage with our consultation and submit their views about whether we’re appropriately reflecting what the evidence is telling us.”

Following the review, CAP committed to develop new standards on ads that feature stereotypical gender roles or characteristics. CAP is now developing a new rule and guidance on the depiction of gender stereotypes in ads, which it will consult on in Spring 2018.

Evidence in the review suggested that harmful stereotypes can restrict the choices, aspirations and opportunities of children, young people and adults. These stereotypes can be reinforced by some advertising, which therefore plays a part in unequal gender outcomes, with costs for individuals, the economy and society. The review welcomed the ASA’s track record of banning ads on grounds of objectification, inappropriate sexualisation and for normalising unhealthily thin body images, but found that more needs to be done on gender stereotypical roles and characteristics portrayed in ads.

The new rule will not ban all forms of gender stereotypes.  For example, the evidence falls short of calling for a ban on ads depicting a woman cleaning or a man doing DIY tasks.  But, subject to context and content considerations, the evidence suggests certain types of depictions are likely to be problematic, for example, an ad which depicts family members creating a mess while a woman has sole responsibility for cleaning it up or an ad that features a man trying and failing to undertake simple parental or household tasks because of stereotypes associated with his gender.

Guy Parker, Chief Executive of the Advertising Standards Authority, observed: “While advertising is only one of many factors that contribute to unequal gender outcomes, we welcome CAP’s decision to introduce a new rule on harmful gender stereotypes in ads.  Although companies have responded positively and constructively to our report, with welcome examples of voluntary action, there is more to do.  We are determined to make sure our regulation calls out harmful and outdated practices and a new rule in the Advertising Codes will help tackle the harmful gender stereotypes identified in our review of the evidence”

Laura Kelly of the Institute of Promotional Marketing’s Regulatory advisory Service said: “The introduction of a new rule on gender stereotypes is a great example of the proactive work the advertising and marketing industry is doing to stay touch with modern values and minimise harm to consumers. This presents an opportunity for agencies and brands to retire old fashioned stereotypes and create innovative promotional campaigns that reflect societal change and really capture the public’s imagination.”

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