Seeing the distorted faces of smokers with fish hooks through their mouths, intended to shock tobacco addicts to "get unhooked" by calling a helpline, caused 774 people to complain the campaign was "offensive, frightening and distressing", placing it in the top 10 most-complained-about adverts of all time. Overall, in 2007 there were twice the number of objections to violent images, particularly those with weapons, as recorded in 2006. The watchdog's annual report concluded that the trend reflects concern generated by rising shootings and stabbings of young people, including the murder of 11-year-old Rhys Jones in Liverpool in August 2007, and a lack of public tolerance for images of violence in everyday life.
In a year where the total number of adverts complained about reached its highest ever of 14,080 - up 9.6% on 2006 - there was also greater scrutiny of environmental claims. Some 556 complaints about 408 "green" ads thought to be misleading was more than doubled from 2006, though the authority did say that its own ad campaign, aimed at directing people how to complain, may have led to its busiest year yet. TV adverts drew the most complaints, 9,915, but the most significant rise was complaints over internet advertising, up a third and the second most complained about ad medium after broadcast. Issues raised were pricing, availability of goods, and charges.
But of 2,918 complaints the majority could not be dealt with because they related not to paid-for adverts but content of websites, outside the ASA's remit. The authority is funded by a levy on advertisers. Lord Smith, its chairman, warned that internet complaints posed a challenge to self-regulation in the industry: "These complaints are almost entirely about truth, accuracy, misleadingness and availability, the 'meat and drink' of the ASA's daily work. We hope for an early outcome to the detailed discussions under way within the industry on the development of ways to ensure continued responsibility in advertising in new media settings."
The second most complained about advert of 2007 was a Trident chewing gum campaign which relied heavily on Caribbean accents to convey humour: one ad portrayed a middle class white woman developing a strong Jamaican accent after chewing the gum. Viewers complained the ads were racist with offensive stereotypes. The authority found that, while the campaign did not incite racial intolerance or discrimination, it had caused deep offence to a significant minority, after receiving 519 complaints.
Third was an ad for Rustlers burgers which showed a woman arriving at a man's flat "just for coffee". As the man started a microwave in the kitchen, however, the ad shows the sofa spinning around to reveal the women reclining on the sofa in her underwear. A voiceover states: "If only everything was as quick as Rustlers." The ASA received 219 complaints claiming it was offensive, sexist, demeaning to women, and carried undertones of sexual abuse. Viewers also complained that the ads had been shown during children's films. The authority concluded the humour would be unlikely to cause serious offence; however, because the ad was scheduled around a children's film, Bugsy Malone, it was likely to be watched by children.
Three of the 10 ads most complained about had violent imagery. They included the anti-smoking ad; one particular MFI television ad showing a woman slapping her husband (for other MFI ads depicting family rows, complaints were rejected); and a TV ad for Quorn showing a teenager threatening her brother with a fork - complaints against this ad were not upheld. Also in the top 10 was a poster ad for the British Heart Foundation showing a naked man and a swimsuited woman cuddling on a beach, though, again, complaints were not upheld.
Top five offenders:
1 'Fish hook' anti-smoking campaign Department of Health (774 complaints. Upheld.)
2 Trident chewing gum Cadbury's (519 complaints. Upheld.)
3 Rustlers burgers and chicken naan Kepak UK (219 complaints. Upheld.)
4 'You'll feel right at home' MFI (217 complaints. Upheld.)
5. Quorn Marlow Foods (181 complaints. Not upheld.)
With hundreds of TV channels and the likes of Facebook and Bebo competing ever furiously for our attention, it is no surprise that advertisers are arguably being increasingly controversial. Sometimes they make mistakes and accidentally breach the advertising codes. But much more often it's a deliberate marketing tactic.
As they reach for another cigarette from a carton emblazoned with the words "Smoking Kills", the notion that lighting up is bad for you is not going to be breaking news to very many smokers. So for the Department of Health's anti-smoking campaign to have any point at all, it is going to have to be especially arresting - hence the controversial "fish hook" campaign. "In the case of ads trying to get across messages around topics like road safety, child abuse or smoking people often need a jolt out of their apathy," says creative director Malcolm Poynton.
"Feel-good" ads such as Cadbury's Gorilla or Sony's Balls scoop truckloads of awards and critical acclaim in the industry. But ad agencies also scramble over one another to handle the type of serious work in demand by clients such as the NSPCC. At the same time, there is the more cynical use of shock ads in the knowledge that a tight media budget will be amplified by attracting an advertising ban. French Connection's FCUK ads are a prime example of this strategy, with a brand presence well outstripping its TV spend. The company became such a serial offender that the advertising watchdog eventually said that for two years all poster campaigns had to be pre-vetted before running.
Even though it may depress advertisers who see their work as an art form, it is often the most annoying ads on TV that prove to be the most effective and memorable. Halifax's "staff-as-stars" ads, most famously starring Howard Brown, routinely get lambasted in advertising circles - and yet the campaign has proved to be hugely successful for the bank. "Annoying ads like Cillit Bang can have that way of worming their way inside your head," said Saatchi & Saatchi's strategy director, Richard Huntington. "In fact, the theory of likable advertising - like my ad, like my brand - that has been really popular in the past, is perhaps often overrated."
