Lovehoney's gag deemed irresponsible by the ASA

The ASA recently (partly) upheld a complaint in relation to Lovehoney's advertisement for a sex toy, highlighting the need to tread carefully when placing an ad containing sexual imagery.

Lovehoney placed a digital billboard ad outside Clapham Junction Station with an image of a ball gag (by itself, i.e. not being worn by a person), a sex toy used to limit a person's speech. The quick-witted product promotion was released in a timely fashion, just a couple of weeks after the Duke of Sussex's memoir 'Spare' was released and it contained the wording "Silence is golden, Harry" with smaller text below directly referencing the book by stating, "Spare ball gags available at www.lovehoney.co.uk". The ad was challenged on grounds that (i) it was likely to cause serious or widespread offence; and (ii) it was inappropriate for display in an untargeted medium where children could see it.

The ASA ruled against upholding the complaint that the ad would cause offence on the basis that although the implication of using a ball gag to silence someone could be considered distasteful, it was unlikely to cause widespread offence. However, when determining whether the ad was inappropriate for the location in which it was displayed, the ASA noted that the ad was featured in a busy station; there was potential for a large number of people to see the ad, including children; the image was inappropriate for children to see; and although it was unlikely younger children would know what the item was, older children might understand its intended purpose. The ASA therefore concluded that the ad was irresponsibly targeted, and this element of the complaint was upheld.

Following the Department of Education's 2011 report "Letting Children be Children", the ASA has cracked down on untargeted outdoor ads containing sexual imagery. Specifically, this has included ads that could be seen as ‘overtly/explicitly sexual’. Additionally, the general rule under the CAP Code is that marketing communications must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society. It may be surprising to some to see that the ASA deemed the image of a ball gag that was not being worn by anyone, and with no other sexual context or commentary, as falling into the category of 'overtly/explicitly sexual', but the ASA's ruling indicates the need for caution when publicly displaying any form of sexual imagery in an untargeted medium.

Further emphasis was placed on the importance of targeted advertising in this context in another recent ruling by the ASA. The ruling was in relation to complaints against an Ann Summers television advert in which a group of women performed dance routines in lingerie. The ASA ruled against upholding the complaints on the basis that, due to the use of scheduling restrictions, the ad had not been targeted at children.

The commonly used phrase 'sex sells' will likely still remain a mantra in the marketing world but it's where that sex is sold that should be scrutinised by advertisers. In this sense, it's interesting to reflect on whether there's any public space that the ASA might have deemed an acceptable location for this ad? For example, would the ad have been permissible if placed in a non-residential and non-school area on a billboard facing a pub (which, for the most-part, is a venue for adults) or in certain parts of Soho? The issue is perhaps compounded by the fact that, in most cases, advertisers will want to reach as wide an audience as possible and so will be reluctant to unnecessarily limit their potential audience. But clearly a balance must be struck if adverse rulings are to be avoided.

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