Procter & Gamble has decided not to seek a review of the ban imposed by the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI) on its Tampax & Tea TV ad, the ASAI has confirmed. As a result, the decision remains that the ad will not run in the same format again. Ads found to be in breach of the code can only run again if they are changed to comply with the code.
The ASAI’s executive was “always available to work with and help advertisers to allow an ad comply with the code… We acknowledge that there has been a lot of commentary on the ruling and would like to reiterate that the ASAI fully supports the advertising of all product sectors, including tampons and other sanitary products, in any media or on any platform.”
The ad was created by Saatchi & Saatchi in New York.
Most of the 150 complaints came from women. Some complainants objected to the phrases used in the ad, including “you gotta get ’em up there girls” and “not just the tip, up to the grip”, which were vulgar, embarrassing and crude. The ASAI said some people felt the language used was “over-descriptive, inappropriately expressed and with excessive detail”.
Awareness, education and informational ads are acceptable once they comply with the code. Each ad is judged on its own merits, taking account of the content and the context. For more on the ASAI’s review process, go to https://www.asai.ie/asai-code/appendix-i-review-system/
