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Offensive - British Heart Foundation
Euro RSCG WNEK Gosper

Issue

An advertisement for the British Heart Foundation showed an artery with fatty deposits (atheroma) that had built up inside. It then showed a group of people smoking. The ash of their cigarettes was shown changing into the same fatty substance.

A total of 64 viewers complained that the images were distasteful and unnecessarily graphic and asked how such hard hitting scenes could be justified. Some questioned the effectiveness of the approach and asked whether there was medical evidence to back up the connection being made between smoking and heart disease.

Response

The British Heart Foundation explained that the advertisement was designed to raise awareness of the link between smoking and coronary artery disease. It cited a British Medical Journal study conducted over a period of 40 years. This had shown how cigarette smoke enhances the build up of atheroma in coronary arteries. This in turn restricts blood flow and increases the risk of a heart attack. Similar awareness campaigns have aired in 26 countries throughout the world with overwhelmingly positive results. The BHF's own research prior to running the campaign in the UK showed that the graphic imagery was an effective way to communicate with smokers and that the image of cigarette ash changing into the fatty substance helped reinforce the link in smokers' minds. It reported that the early signs of the effectiveness of the advertisement were encouraging, with an increase in calls to its smoking helpline and visits to its website.

Decision

The BACC had approved the advertisement on the condition that it should not be shown before 9pm. In assessing such advertisements it's important to note the aims of the campaign and the reasoning behind the approach. Although it was clear that some viewers had found it objectionable, the importance of the message outweighed this. We do not believe that the content was generally unacceptable for transmission.

Complaints not upheld.

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