An advert for Dairylea cheese has been banned for encouraging unsafe behaviour, after showing a child eating while hanging upside down.

'The ad - which was shown on catch-up television last August - featured two girls hanging from a goalpost, with one of them eating a cheese triangle.

Fourteen people complained, including one viewer who said a toddler in their family had copied the girls.

Dairylea owner Mondelez argued the risk of choking was low when upside down.

The company pointed to research that it said suggested someone's ability to swallow was not affected by the position they ate in - and that being in a head-down position was recommended during a choking incident.

It added the ad had intended to show parents giving their children more freedom, and there were two parents supervising in the background of the ad.

Mondelez also said the advert - which aired on ITV Hub, All 4 and My 5 - had been scheduled alongside programmes not directed at children, so a limited number of children would have seen it.

Choking risk

But the Advertising Standards Authority - which regulates adverts in the UK - agreed with the viewers who complained.

It said many children would be familiar with a five-a-side football goalpost and it would be easy for them to copy the ad.

The ASA said it had sought expert views on child accidents, and was advised that there was a potentially a high risk of choking in that situation.

'We also noted that one complainant had reported that their three-year-old relative, after seeing the ad, ate their food whilst hanging upside down,' it said in its ruling.

The watchdog added: 'We considered that the ad condoned and encouraged younger children to eat whilst hanging upside down, which was an unsafe practice where there was potentially a high risk of choking.' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60048724

Image credit: ASA and BBC

Is the ASA consistent?

The Dairylea advert might be compared to other adverts allowed by the ASA: https://www.asa.org.uk/news/top-10-most-complained-about-ads-from-2017.html These include a KFC ad showing a dancing chicken heading for slaughter, a Match ad showing two women kissing, and half a century ago an advert literally demonising Tony Blair: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/1997/jan/10/past.andrewculf all of which the ASA allowed.

ASA Code

Here is part of the extensive Code provided by the ASA:

Principle

Advertisements must not be harmful or offensive. Advertisements must take account of generally
accepted standards to minimise the risk of causing harm or serious or widespread offence. The
context in which an advertisement is likely to be broadcast must be taken into account to avoid
unsuitable scheduling (see Section 32: Scheduling).

Rules

4.1 Advertisements must contain nothing that could cause physical, mental, moral
or social harm to persons under the age of 18.

4.2 Advertisements must not cause serious or widespread offence against
generally accepted moral, social or cultural standards.

Particular care must be taken to avoid causing offence on the grounds of: age;
disability; gender; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership;
pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; and sexual orientation.

4.3 Advertisements must not exploit the special trust that persons under the age of
18 place in parents, guardians, teachers or other persons.

4.4 Advertisements must not include material that is likely to condone or encourage
behaviour that prejudices health or safety.

https://www.asa.org.uk/static/846f25eb-f474-47c1-ab3ff571e3db5910/d5d3286d-0cc8-49ce-9b45ce1d963ba3ca/BCAP-Code-full.pdf

A difficult balance

Given that it must somehow arbitrate these matters using this rule, is the ASA in an impossible position?:

'4.2 Advertisements must not cause serious or widespread offence against
generally accepted moral, social or cultural standards.'

And given that advertising is almost impossible to avoid in present society, should a direct democratic consultation be carried out to discover, from thousands of general citizens, what these 'generally accepted standards' actually are?'

Image credit: Getty Images