The campaign was created by Channel 4's in-house department to promote the new series of 'Six Feet Under', which is based in a funeral home. Two posters were the subject of 10 complaints. One showed a man's naked torso and face, with a bottle of embalming fluid in the foreground and the text reading "Fisher & Sons Funeral Home". Next to the embalming fluid was the strapline "Skin to die for".
A second execution showed a woman's face, with open, opaque eyes. It featured a jar labelled "In Eternum -- wound filler" with the words "Beauty to die for" next to it. The ads pointed people in the direction of a spoof website, , and were shot in the style of fashionable cosmetics campaigns.
The Advertising Standards Authority ruled against Channel 4 because it said that it was concerned people would not understand the intended parody, and would be offended by what appeared to be corpses advertising funeral products.
In its defence, Channel 4 argued that people were objecting to the idea of death rather than the imagery used in the posters, and said the ads were a thought-provoking comment on death and consumerism.
A second complaint, that the ads were unsuitable for display as posters, especially because children might see them, was also upheld. Channel 4 said it had carefully chosen sites for posters avoiding hospitals, schools, religious sites or care homes for the elderly, but the ASA ruled that the posters were unsuitable for display anywhere.
Channel 4 already knew that the campaign was likely to cause some offence because it ran into trouble when it came to booking the ads in some quarters, with style publications believed to have been concerned that the creative might upset other advertisers, especially those advertising cosmetic products.
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .
.jpg)
.jpg)