Two television ads have been banned in Britain under new rules against harmful gender stereotypes, the country’s advertising authority said on Wednesday, the first such action since the regulations came into force last month.
The ads, from the local branches of Volkswagen and the food giant Mondelez, were found to be in breach of the rules, which stipulate that ads must not include “gender stereotypes that are likely to cause harm, or serious or widespread offense.”
Volkswagen’s ad showed a series of men “engaged in adventurous activities,” the regulator said, while the only two women depicted were asleep in a tent and sitting by a baby carriage. The main characters of the ad from Mondelez, for the cheese spread Philadelphia, were two distracted young fathers in a restaurant who appeared “unable to care for children effectively.”
The rulings come at a time when advertisers are facing increasing scrutiny of the images they project and the ways in which they are likely to influence behavior, particularly in children.
Palko Karasz – New York Times – August 14, 2019.
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