“The ad was not likely to cause serious or widespread offence and did not breach the [Committee of Advertising Practice] Code.”
Those were the words of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) when it did not uphold a complaint that was centred on a DeadHappy television advert about the cost-of-living crisis in the UK. The TV ad, a screengrab from which is shown above, features an animated character who refuses to consume electricity and is wearing winter clothing indoors.
Towards the end, the main character is convinced to check out DeadHappy for “really affordable” insurance but still won’t spend on lights or home heating.
In the view of the complainant, the advertisement trivialised the concerns of those struggling to keep up with energy costs.
In its ruling, the advertising watchdog said: “The ad was seen in the context of widespread news coverage of the increasing cost-of-living. That coverage had included a focus on a rise in household energy bills, which had outpaced average household incomes, and had left some people struggling to pay.
“The ASA noted the ad had used an animated production style, and the depiction of a cold house had been taken to an extreme degree through the inclusion of elements such as roaming penguins, and icicles hanging from the nose of one of the characters. We acknowledged that some viewers may have questioned the ad’s tone, because it used humour and allusions to death in reference to the increased cost of household energy bills.
“We considered that while the depictions and references used in the ad might be distasteful, the combination of the production style and the extremity of the imagery used had given the ad a comedic tone and did not go as far as trivialising the difficulties of those negatively affected by the cost-of-living crisis.”
In the view of ad clearance business Clearcast, the advert was a light-hearted way of raising the issue of the cost-of-living crisis while containing the more serious message that people should not be cutting back on spending money on life insurance.
“While we acknowledged that some viewers may have found the ad distasteful, and sympathised with anyone experiencing cost-of-living difficulties, we considered that it did not trivialise the concerns of those who were struggling to heat their homes,” stated the ASA. “We therefore concluded the ad was not likely to cause serious or widespread offence and did not breach the code.”
Earlier this year, the advertising regulator ruled against DeadHappy following multiple complaints about its social media ad that featured serial killer Harold Shipman.
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