Ads for two major brands, Twix and Diesel, have been banned by the ASA.
The Twix TV ad, by adam&eveDDB, was banned for encouraging dangerous driving by showing a car chase with a man doing fast, daredevil turns and casually driving off a cliff. In its defence, Twix-owner Mars said the campaign, which ran in 74 markets and launched the new “Two is more than one” platform, was set in a “separate world that was absurd, fantastical and removed from reality.”
However, the ASA said that because the ad started out in a realistic road setting, it appeared to condone unsafe driving and breached the Highway Code thanks to the speed of the chase and the dangerous manoeuvres depicted.
For Diesel, an ad featuring model and celebrity Katie Price by design studio Simmonds inspired complaints that Price looked “unhealthily thin” and that the pictures objectified and sexualised her.
Diesel claimed that the ads celebrate diversity – because Price is 46 years old – and empowerment because she is “unafraid of her sexuality.” Challenging societal norms is always going to be uncomfortable for more traditional people, they argued, adding that Price had “excellent muscle tone” as a counter to the extreme thinness accusations.
The first complaint was upheld, mostly because Price is inside a house and people don’t normally wear bikinis at home. The placing of her handbag was also deemed to draw extra attention to her breasts. However, the ASA bought liked the muscle tone argument and said they didn’t think Price appeared to be “unduly slender”. The ad, which Diesel said ran in more than 100 countries outside the UK without complaint, was banned for the objectification offence.
