Tuesday, November 29, 2011

The most ridiculous British ad banning ever.

(click image)
The UK's ASA is well-known for their knee-jerk quashing of slightly porny or "controversial" ads, sometimes after receiving one or two complaints. But this banning is a new level nanny-ism.
That's 14-year-old actress Hailee Steinfeld (wonderful in "True Grit") sitting on railroad tracks waiting to—obviously—commit suicide. At least, that's what the ASA ruled.
The image is from a Miu Miu ad.
Previous noteworthy ASA bannings:
Geisha violence.
Racist Playstation ad.
Dakota Fanning's vagina bottle.
Gruesome "Last Exorcism" poster.
Jesus-mocking mobile phone ad.

15 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I would have ruled in the same manner. The banning is not ridiculous at all. Who sits on railway tracks? It's also interesting that they made her look despondent. Some of your knee jerk reactions to ads have been a lot more ridiculous.

1:36 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

very good they banned it. 14-year-old girls should not be allowed to model for women's clothes. is the fashion industry full of pedophiles or what.

1:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

she is crying because she went for a walk by the railroad tracks and scuffed her high heels...

I-)

1:43 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I just read the Guardian article, and WOW, man, I can't believe you were a former journalist.

In its ruling, the ASA did not say that the girl was "waiting to commit suicide". They said she was placed in a "potentially hazardous situation on a railway track". Check your facts.

Let's examine the lame response from the company, Miu Miu.

"Prada Retail UK, responding on behalf of the Miu Miu brand, said that the campaign was "part of a serious, high-fashion campaign" aimed at adult women."

[Serious? Shut up, Prada]

"The company said that the campaign was meant to look like it was "based on the set of an imaginary film". Shots were meant to look like the actor had been captured in photographs between takes on the imaginary film."

[Imaginary film? Shut the fuck up, Prada]

1:44 PM  
Blogger copyranter said...

O-K. Yes, the committing suicide interpretation was something I read elsewhere, the Indepedent, I think. Reminder: this is my ad blog, not "journalism." Also, I am insane.

1:49 PM  
Blogger copyranter said...

...because she is crying.

2:00 PM  
Blogger stirwise said...

Holly? I think her name is Hailee.
Also, this does not read "suicidal" to me. In the US we get those nasty Tom Ford ads but in the UK they ban this. Blargh.

2:11 PM  
Blogger Karen said...

It's Hailee, not Holly.

2:27 PM  
Blogger copyranter said...

Al-RIGHT, I wrote this post even faster than usual at Tucson airport. I'm currently "up in the air" (in 1st class, of course).

2:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is typical of the problems from the moral guardians like the ASA. If advertisers want to have an ad with members of the KKK in perfect white gowns to help promote a new whiter-than-white washing powder there is always some liberal who wants to complain.

3:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

bitches love railroad tracks

3:42 PM  
Blogger copyranter said...

Anon 3:03: um, even as a Libertarian, I think I might protest that KKK ad.

3:57 PM  
Blogger cheeseonearth said...

Who cares if it's banned? Why is a 14 year old selling clothes for "adult women"? Did they run out of adult women to take photos of? Am I supposed to aspire to look like a 14 year old? I'm with Anonymous @ 1:44 PM .. Fuck you, Prada.

5:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think it's a hilarious photo for so many "serious" "adults" to come up with. Every photographer knows that railroad tracks are a shitty low-level bar-band headshot meme... been so for a few decades (right up there with "brick wall")

http://rockandrollconfidential.com/hall/hall_detail.php?dd_keyid=52

(give it 10 or 15 clicks - there's gold in them thar band shots)

9:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

There should be a line that says «Go out in style.» That would have made a great ad.

9:02 AM  

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