The UK, my birthplace and home for the first 26 years of my life, has way more rigid advertising guidelines than Uncle Sam. I remember wanting to get into a public battle with a competitor product and being told that it was not allowed. "You can't call out the rivals in the ads, it's not done."
Over here, it's a full-on fistfight. Pepsi just recently bitch-slapped Coke with the Santa On Vacation ad. The infamous, and brilliant, "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ads did the same thing over a whole campaign. And after Apple was done taking swipes at PCs, the tables were turned and PCs, thanks to Microsoft, hit back with another campaign.
In Australia, France, Sweden and other countries, the rules are so relaxed that nudity and swearing is often part of the advertising mix. Some ads in the past have featured naked, sweaty women in saunas, men hiding their erections with newspapers and, well, it just goes downhill from there.
What Is The Impact of Banning Ads?
When the UK banned some cosmetics advertisements recently, it made me sit up and think - what message is this sending out?
Let's be clear. Advertising is not supposed to mislead. It can't tell you a product will do something it clearly cannot. But it often does exaggerate a benefit to the point of ridiculousness. Just look at the following list of "product benefits" that could never really be made:
- Axe Deodorant ensures that extremely attractive women will run after you begging for sex, regardless of what you look like or what you do.
- Red Bull makes you sprout wings and fly. Literally.
- Wonderbra makes your breasts look so big that men will swerve off the road, children can use them to shelter from the rain and you'll get to be a CEO without having any experience or qualifications.
- Energizer batteries last almost an eternity!
- Tabasco is so hot, your breath will set fire to things and melt plastic.
I just saw quite a clever ad that had a woman opening a can of tuna with her nail. The product was, naturally, for something that helped strengthen nails. Will any woman EVER be able to do this? Clearly not. It's an exaggerated benefit to make a point. This product strengthens nails.
Banning ads gets us into some very nasty territory, which could take advertising into a very scared and litigious place. Once upon a time, a can of peanuts was just a can of peanuts. Now, that a can of peanuts must be labeled "contains nuts." Yes, we're definitely on the defensive these days.
Should We have To Make Declarative Statements In Advertising?
It's not so far-fetched to think that one ad being banned could lead to a slew of new rules and regulations surrounding ads. What was once a playground for creativity could become a minefield that no client wants to navigate. And if they do, oh the legal jargon that would have to accompany it. Here's a look at just a few of the products mentioned earlier, now with the appropriate legal jargon to keep everyone safe.
Sad? Yes. Possible? Let's hope not.
AXE - *Smells OK, but it will not actually make you irresistible to women.
RED BULL - *Will give you a bit more energy but won't actually give you wings.
WONDERBRA - *Visibly increases breast size but will not make them enormous or guarantee any kind of pay raise or promotion.
ENERGIZER - *Last about as long as any other battery, and it isn't decades.
TABASCO - *A spicy sauce that won't actually give you superhuman dragon breath.
