Giffgaff in trouble over ‘sexually graphic’ tweet
Mobile phone network Giffgaff has landed in hot water over a ‘sexually graphic’ tweet it sent out through its Twitter feed, which included a video of a couple having sex.
The tweet, which could be accessed by an embedded feed on Giffgsff’s own website, read "The situations in our new videos are, well, awkward. #NSFW #alltheboss” and was accompanied by a video showing a character walking in on his parents having sex.
During the video panting sounds could be heard, which continued over a blank screen section.
Giffgaff commented that it was not its intention to cause offence, and the ad was intended to show in a humorous way that, although some customers may not feel “like the boss” while living at home with their parents, with the Giffgaff network they could be the boss because they “are able to have a say in how it's run”.
The company stressed that there was no nudity in the video and pointed out that there was a warning at the start of the video that stated “You cannot unsee this”.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) dismissed the fact there was no nudity in the video and said it was clear the characters were having sex, and the content was of a “strongly sexual nature” that would be likely to cause offence in an untargeted medium.
For that reason the ad must not appear again in its current form and Gifgaff was warned by the ASA it must ensure future ads in untargeted media do not contain strongly sexual content.