KFC’s teddy bear ad filleted by watchdog

A TV ad for fried chicken that showed a teddy bear at the end of a rope being pulled into a tree-house has been given the chop by the advertising standards authority.

The complaint about Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) was lodged by a professor of child psychiatry who expressed serious concerns that children could try to imitate the scene with other children, with potentially disastrous consequences.

The advertiser said it was not guilty of encouraging or condoning dangerous behaviour, but the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI) said the promo could have given rise to potentially dangerous copycat activities among children and it upheld the complaint.

O2 also got a wrist-slapping by the authority after a complaint from a consumer concerning a television advertisement for a Blackberry Mobile Office.

The complainant considered the statement “Here in Ireland we work the longest hours in Europe” to be misleading.

He said that from his direct experience, in a number of European countries they work significantly longer hours.

The complaint was upheld and the claim by O2 has been removed from the ad.

Radio advertising for what is commonly described as an eco friendly car was the focus of another complaint.

An ad for the Toyota Prius included a claim that the Prius produces one tonne less CO2 emissions. The complainant provided emission figures for two other Toyota diesel models, and demonstrated the saving was only achieved against one of these cars.

The advertisers said the Prius had the lowest CO2 emissions figure of any car available in Ireland and that it emitted half the NO2 of an equivalent size petrol car and one twentieth that of an equivalent- sized-diesel car.

It said the Prius produced nearly 89% fewer smog-forming pollutants than the average new car and that its claim was in relation to petrol cars of a similar size and performance.

The ASAI said, given the range of cars available on the market, it would have been preferable had the advertisement included a reference to the basis for the claim in their advertising, and upheld the complaint.

Ryanair had its wings clipped when it was found a promotion on the company’s website for a seat sale across Europe was not accurate.

The promotion listed the days and months one could travel and stated that all charges and fees were included in the price.

The complainant found the travel period dates confusing and misleading and he also queried a charge of €39 being added to the cost. The advertiser, in its response, said Ryanair.com was outside the ASAI’s remit.

However, the complaint was upheld.