25% Rise In Advertising Complaints

Some 2000 complaints were lodged with the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland(ASAI) in 2012, up some 25% on 2011.

The advertisement which received the most complaints (400) last year was Paddy Power’s ‘Ladies Day at Cheltenham’, which asked viewers to spot whether women in the video were born female or were transgendered. “Separate the stallions from the mares,” the voice over said.

Dublin’s Alchemy Nightclub received the second highest number of complaints for a provocative advertisement they uploaded to their Facebook page. Although the advertisement received over 250 complaints, it was not within the ASAI’s remit at the time, so the complaints could not be upheld.

Youth Defence billboards opposing abortion attracted over 140 complaints, but the ASAI were unable to act on as the billboards were not of a commercial nature, ASAI chief executive Frank Goodman said.

A full analysis of ASAI complaints is underway and a list of complaints upheld throughout 2012 will be released in March.

The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) revealed that TV3’s Psychic Readings Live show received the most complaints last year.

The late-night show was cancelled in December and received a total of 29 complaints, nearly a quarter of all complaints made to the BAI last year. Ten of those complaints were upheld.

RTÉ’s Prime Time and TV News both received nine complaints each, but none of these complaints were upheld.

Altogether, 132 complaints from 2012 have been processed by the BAI to date. In 2011, 217 complaints were processed.

A spokesman for the BAI said the drop in complaints is due to new regulations stating complainants must now go through the broadcaster before being lodged to the BAI.

(H)