Giffgaff YouTube ad featuring 'menacing creatures' ruled unsuitable for children
Giffgaff has had a YouTube ad featuring 'menacing creatures' censured by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which the watchdog deemed "unsuitable for young children".
Created by Fallon London the ad opened with the sound of a woman screaming for help and being persued by a number of characters including a ghost, a man holding a chainsaw and a doll holding a blowtorch.
On-screen text stated "When you're scared, you're not the boss. At giffgaff we're all the boss. giffgaff the mobile network run by you."
One complainant, whose child had seen the ad before a programme for young viewers, said it was not appropriate for children to view.
Gffgaff explained that the ad was "a parody of horror films" and was designed to be "playful and clever" rather than scary. The mobile network added that it believed the ad was inappropriate for children and so it was delivered to YouTube viewers whose account details recorded them as over the age of 18.
YouTube said it believed the ad was compliant with advertising policies.
However the ASA said that while it recognised Giffgaff's efforts to target the ad to over 18s (and understood it had used YouTube's targeting filters to the full extent) the watchdog ultimately felt the ad had not been targeted appropriately. Giffgaff was told to ensure that future ads were targeted appropriately.