Life jacket company censured for harrowing ad featuring screaming woman and drowning child
A life jacket company has fallen foul of the ad watchdog for a TV ad depicting the sound of a child drowning which the Ad Standards Board ruled was presenting violence in a manner not justifiable in the context of the product advertised.
The ad, promoting a EBBS life jacket, featured a splash, followed by a woman’s scream and a child’s voice whispering desperately “help me”, while a voiceover gives statistics on the number of children who drown each year, with the only visuals is a heart rate monitor and the statistics.
Complaints to the board argued the TV spot was “fear mongering”, and it was irresponsible to promote a product in a way that resembled a community service announcement or government ad.“If it was a government announcement, then a heavy hitting ad is justified but I’ve been forced to watch this unbelievably tragic ad over and over, and every single time I feel stressed and sickened.
if you think this ad is distressing, just wait till your child drowns, that’s much more distressing
by it’s very nature a lifejacket ad has to appear to be a CSA
if they govt could afford to tell every idiotic parent how to protect their children, it would
but it can’t
i’ve had a gutful of ditzy types objecting ads which dare to explain the harsh realities of life