It's that time of year again when the ASA releases details of the most complained about adverts of the year. Topping the list was the TV advert by Paddy Power, the betting company, which showed a cat being kicked across a pitch by a blind football player. The ad received a grand total of 1,313 complaints, making it the third most-complained about ad in UK history. Consumers complained that it was offensive to blind people and could encourage animal cruelty. The ASA, however, disagreed and did not ban or censure the ad, taking the view that it was "surreal and light-hearted in tone".

Animal cruelty was a common source of complaints for the ASA in 2010, with the portrayal of animals in ads clearly hitting a sour note with the pet-loving Brits. Both John Lewis and the drinks company AG Barr caused further upset: John Lewis with its Christmas advert, which briefly showed a dog in a snow-covered kennel, raising concerns from viewers about the animal suffering in the cold; and AG Barr's ad which portrayed cartoon animals being led into a butcher's shop.

Another area which angered viewers in 2010 was gender stereotyping. Increasingly this is an issue about the stereotyping of men, as seemingly in an attempt to be seen not to be targeting women, advertisers are choosing to portray men as the weaker sex. An example of this is the sixth most complained about ad of 2010 for HomePride oven cleaner, which claimed, "So easy, even a man can do it."

In addition to animal cruelty, overtly sexual themes or imagery and the scheduling of adverts and their visibility to children were apparently the most sensitive topics of 2010. The second most complained about ad of 2010 was for family planning charity Marie Stopes which attracted 1,088 official complaints and a further 3,600 objections on postcards and via petitions for allegedly promoting abortion with their controversial "Are you late?" campaign. Furthermore, an advert for condoms by Durex broadcast before 11am and in the early evening attracted 151 complaints. Indeed, inappropriateness for children is the most common reason for complaints to the ASA over the last six years (see our previous Ad Alert on the topic).

Interestingly out of the 10 most complained about ads last year the ASA was happy with 8 of them. Overall 25,214 complaints were lodged in 2010 about 13,074 ads, a 13% decrease on 2009. Only 2,226 of these complaints were, however, upheld by the ASA (less than 9%), leading to the withdrawal or modification of those ads. TV remains the medium attracting most complaints, accounting for 56% of the total. As a whole, the biggest topic of complaints was not offensive adverts but misleading adverts: a stark reminder for all advertisers to substantiate any claims made in their ads.

26 May 2011