ASA makes first ruling against VOD ad
May 20, 2010
ASA, the UK advertising watchdog, has made its first ruling against a VOD ad, banning a zombie film trailer that ran in The X Factor final on the ITV Player. The Advertising Standards Authority received a complaint that the ad was frightening and inappropriate for display during a family programme because it had distressed young children. Paramount’s ad for the 15-rated film Carriers had been given a post-9pm watershed ban on linear TV.
The watchdog banned the ad, concluding that younger children were likely to be frightened by some scenes. It noted that VOD programming had safeguards so that ITV could make sure only over-18s could access adult content, and there was also an on-screen warning. “However, we understood that X Factor itself on the ITV Player was not protected by a restricted content warning, nor was there any warning about the scenes in the trailer,” the watchdog said.