Media
Complaints regarding a 'teaser' ad for the ITV1 psychic drama Afterlife have not been upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority.
A total of 30 complaints were made against the ads, published in London and national newspapers, which were displayed as lonely hearts messages placed by dead people.
The adverts said: "Soul Finders - Looking to contact that special someone" with a skeleton cupid holding a bow and arrow on either side.
Below were columns listing messages, like: "Young Boy - 8 yrs old, fatal car crash. Can someone tell my mummy I forgive her?; Carley 8 yrs old, abducted and murdered. Please help me find the man who killed me; Woman 36, smothered in sleep by violent husband, now also dead."
At the foot of the ad it said: "ITV1 Afterlife - You don't them. They contact you. Saturday 16th September. itv.com".
The complainants thought that the ads were distressing, offensive and insensitive, particularly those with references to children.
ITV1 said it wanted to highlight the nature of the programme's content to stop those who may be offended or upset tuning in, and that it thought alternative graphical representation of the afterlife would have been more offensive.
The Independent, Daily Telegraph, Metro, The Guardian, Evening Standard, The Times and The Sun, papers which displayed the ads, said they went ahead with publishing the ads because they concluded they were unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.
The ASA agreed with ITV's claim that the intention of the ads was to reflect the nature of the programme; scary, disturbing and unsettling, adding: "We acknowledged that the ad caused distress to some readers; however, we considered that it was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence or distress."
A total of 30 complaints were made against the ads, published in London and national newspapers, which were displayed as lonely hearts messages placed by dead people.
The adverts said: "Soul Finders - Looking to contact that special someone" with a skeleton cupid holding a bow and arrow on either side.
Below were columns listing messages, like: "Young Boy - 8 yrs old, fatal car crash. Can someone tell my mummy I forgive her?; Carley 8 yrs old, abducted and murdered. Please help me find the man who killed me; Woman 36, smothered in sleep by violent husband, now also dead."
At the foot of the ad it said: "ITV1 Afterlife - You don't them. They contact you. Saturday 16th September. itv.com".
The complainants thought that the ads were distressing, offensive and insensitive, particularly those with references to children.
ITV1 said it wanted to highlight the nature of the programme's content to stop those who may be offended or upset tuning in, and that it thought alternative graphical representation of the afterlife would have been more offensive.
The Independent, Daily Telegraph, Metro, The Guardian, Evening Standard, The Times and The Sun, papers which displayed the ads, said they went ahead with publishing the ads because they concluded they were unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.
The ASA agreed with ITV's claim that the intention of the ads was to reflect the nature of the programme; scary, disturbing and unsettling, adding: "We acknowledged that the ad caused distress to some readers; however, we considered that it was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence or distress."
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