"One night stand" (Rustlers)

219 complaints.

ASA verdict - Upheld.

What the ASA said:

Two TV commercials for Rustlers burgers and chicken tikka naan attracted complaints that they were offensive, sexist, demeaning to women and carried undertones of sexual abuse. In addition some viewers felt that the ads, which had been shown during films and programmes such as “Bugsy Malone” and “You’ve Been Framed” were unsuitable for broadcast at times when children might be watching. The ads depicted a woman entering a man’s flat for “Just a coffee”. The man enters the kitchen and starts a microwave. At the same time a sofa spins round and when it has fully rotated the women is seen reclining on it in her underwear. A voiceover states “If only everything was as quick as Rustlers”. The BACC had given the ads and ex-kids restriction.

We considered that the humour in the ads would be unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence, to be seen as sexist or demeaning to women or encourage sexual abuse. However because the ad had been scheduled around “Bugsy Malone” which was likely to be watched by a high proportion of children we upheld complaints about the scheduling of the advertisements.