The ad, by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, for Nicorette Icy White chewing-gum prompted a complaint from one viewer whose seven-year-old child had found the mouth in the ad frightening.
The ASA also challenged whether showing the ad during The Simpsons was inappropriate scheduling due to the ad’s ex-kids restriction.
The advertiser, Johnson & Johnson, defended the ad, saying it had purposely tried to give the ad a playful and funny tone so as not to distress younger viewers.
J&J further stated that it had no control over the broadcasters’ scheduling of the ad.
BSkyB argued that The Simpsons was not a children’s programme and that the reaction of the complainant’s child was not representative of the reactions of most children aged over four years.
The ASA noted the ad’s light-hearted music and cartoon-like style of the mouth and considered the ad was unlikely to frighten young children.
However, because the ad had been given an ex-kids restriction, the watchdog felt that scheduling it around The Simpsons, which was watched by a significant number of young children, represented a breach of the rules on the scheduling of advertising.
The watchdog warned Sky to be more careful with the scheduling of future ads.
United Kingdom
BSkyB warned over scheduling of Nicorette ad
LONDON - The Advertising Standards Authority has found BSkyB in breach of ad scheduling rules after it aired an ad with an ex-kids restriction during an episode of The Simpsons.
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