ITC raps PleasureZone over phone logos

The ITC has said in its latest round of advertising complaints adjudications that PleasureZone, an interactive service available on Sky, has breached the ITC Code.

One viewer complained that some of the logos and picture messages on sale in the Phone Zone of the service were unsuitable for transmission before the 9pm watershed. Some of the files carried terms such as "eat shit" and "punani", while the ITC says some of the logos depicted "sexual imagery" and naked women.

In its assessment, the ITC said that both the images and swearing should only be transmitted after 9pm. The Commission noted that swearing in advertising would not ordinarily be permitted at any time of day, but "as long as the words were restricted to post-watershed they could appear in advertising on Pleasure Zone because, unlike mainstream broadcasting, interactivity allowed viewers more control over what they watched."

Pleasure Zone removed the objectionable content altogether, although the ITC reiterated its post-watershed stance.