Horror themed Phones4U advert avoids ban
The Advertising Standards Authority has cleared the horror themes Phones 4U campaign which drew hundreds of complaints.
The £5.2m ‘Little Girl’ campaign, which were launched in October, generated 601 complaints, with many claiming that they were too scary. However, the ASA has ruled that the ads were ‘unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence or be unduly distressing for most adults’.
The ASA also found that the campaign had been ‘responsibly scheduled’ to avoid children viewing them.
Caspar Nelson, head of brand communications at Phones 4u, commented; “We see the ASA’s ruling as an absolute triumph to creative and impactful advertising. The campaign has been extremely well received by a large audience who recognise the classic horror themes, get the Phones 4u sense of humour, and understand what our ads are trying to communicate.”
Nelson continued; “We’ve sought guidance from Clearcast throughout the campaign, and complied with all its recommendations regarding the appropriate scheduling of content targeted at young adults. We continue to receive positive feedback on the adverts across our social media channels and from customers and are chuffed that the scary little girl can live on within our TV sets!”