Greyhound and slimming ads fall short on standards

A radio conversation in which a woman is called “a dog”, and a television spot for slimming pills are among the ads to run foul of the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI).

The ASAI’s latest report states its complaints committee found 18 of the 23 ads complained of to be in breach of its code on grounds relating to principles, decency and propriety, truthfulness/misleading, violence/antisocial behaviour, and health and beauty.

The subjects of the complaints appeared across internet, direct mail, email, magazines, SMS messages, television, outdoor, and press media.

A radio ad for Kilcohan Park Greyhound Stadium drew a complaint for calling a woman a “dog”. The ad heard one man chastise another as he believed he had referred to a woman as a dog.

“Nah, don’t mind her. She is a dog. I’m talking about the greyhound behind her. She’s a fine breed,” the friend replies.

Beat 102-103, the station that ran the advert, claimed the men “had never directly referred to a woman as a dog and the reference to “she is a dog” was in reference to the ‘greyhound’.”

LipoExit Pharmanord, a weight loss product, also saw a complaint against its advert upheld.

The TV ad showed two women in a store looking at dresses on a hanger, then at the women sitting on a couch and laughing to themselves. The third woman is then seen in a dressing room, struggling to fit into a dress.

“Even an afternoon with your closest friends can make you feel uncomfortable about your weight,” a voiceover said.

Following a complaint, the committee considered the women’s behaviour at the beginning of the ad could be considered as a form of bullying or antisocial behaviour and was therefore in breach of the code.

Among the other complaints was a claim from one woman who said she was partly interested in dealing with KBC Bank due to an advertised offer of free home insurance for a year for those applying for a mortgage with the bank.

Several weeks into her mortgage application she was told the bank would not grant her mortgage approval unless she took out home insurance to cover subsidence on her property.

However, the company the advertisers were offering insurance from did not cover subsidence and they were not prepared to offer an alternative, which in turn led to her having to take out home insurance with another provider.

The ASAI instructed KBC Bank to amend the ad.