Swear Godmother @swearygodmother
Dying laughing here. Some dimwit has reported @HumanFemales’s billboard to the ASA for being offensive. Will they be complaining to the OED for the same reason? Fuckwits.
Is it offensive? You decide...
#sexmatters
It's not remotely offensive as it's stating the obvious and unless dictionaries should be burned I don't know how it can be argued as such.
A point here, though I don't 100% know if it's relevant or not.
What is this advertising? It's important about the nature of the advert. The ASA only covers normal advertising. It DOES NOT cover political advertising. Its out side its remit.
Meanwhile, political ads in non-broadcast media (posters, newspapers etc) whose principal function is to influence voters in local, regional, national or international elections or referendums are exempt from the Advertising Code. We can’t, therefore, look into complaints that political ads are misleading, harmful or offensive.
Now it seems a bit fuzzy here, and perhaps is a grey area because I can't see whether it HAS to be political campaigning directly relating to a particular election.
Certainly the poster's primary objective is to influence voters in a political manner. Its precisely why it was placed in Liverpool for the Labour Party conference.
I can't think of any other purpose for the poster but to influence voters and spark debate. It seems an easy argument to make.
So if anyone is connected with the campaign if reading, make sure you are fully aware of this and make the point if necessary.
The ASA only covers advertising FOR PRODUCTS or SERVICES that might be being advertised in a way that is offensive.
There is a reason that the ASA is not allowed to cover political advertising. Guess why? Because it would restrict free speech and political debate of important issues.