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By John Glenday, Reporter

July 10, 2013 | 2 min read

An Irn Bru ad playing upon the social embarrassment of a mother’s son whilst she showed off her new push up bra to his friends has had three complaints dismissed by the Advertising Standards Authority.

Devised by the Leith Agency the 40 sec clip received 176 complaints from viewers, the bulk of whom claimed that the commercial was overtly sexual and inappropriate.

A minority further questioned whether the piece was sexist and demeaning to women and whether it had been appropriately scheduled.

Responding to these issues AG Barr said the premise of its campaign was utilising Irn Bru to cope with awkward situations and were intentionally ‘cheeky and irreverent’ in their use of humour.

Concurring with this point of view the ASA said: “We considered that the action in the ads did not rely on the mum actively or overtly flirting with her son's friends in a manner designed to actively sexually attract them or form a sexual relationship with them, but was focused on the son's embarrassment.”

In conclusion the ASA found that the ad was not in breach of the code meaning that no further action is necessary.

Ag Barr Advertising Standards Authority Irn-Bru

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