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ASA rules there is no grounds for action on ‘sexist’ Co-op ad

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By Ishbel Macleod, PR and social media consultant

February 5, 2013 | 2 min read

The ASA has told The Drum that no action will be taken over a Co-op ad which suggested frozen chicken and potato wedges were good “for when it’s dad’s turn to cook”.

One complaint was received by the ASA about the ad, although several more were mentioned on Facebook following the posting of the ad, which now seems to be deleted, as well as a thread on Mumsnet dedicated to the ad.

The complaint made to the ASA suggested that the ad was offensive on the grounds it was sexist to imply that men can only prepare ‘fast food’ as opposed to be able to cook ‘properly’.

Complaints on Facebook included: “Why can’t dad cook real food? Because he has testicles maybe?? Sexual discrimination from the co-op. What a disgrace.”

The ASA said: “We carefully assessed the complaint but did not consider there were further grounds for ASA action. Although we noted the ad had generalised “Dads” as being unable to cook freshly prepared meals, we considered that most viewers would interpret this as humorous and light-hearted, rather than being seen as sexist.”

This comes not long after the ASA ruled that the ASDA Christmas ad was not sexist.

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