For example, they argue, why do you need girls in bikinis sitting on the hood of a sports car at a motor show to make people think it is a good car? But it is hard to imagine an advert for swimwear that doesn’t show a girl in swimwear. Equally, an advert for a silk headscarf normally features a lady modeling the latest headscarf fashion. I guess it is a question of perspective. I have historically found the Turkish swimwear adverts fairly tame … getting used to the standards applied here I can be shocked by a poster when I travel in Europe or the US where not just a raunchier pose may be used, but the advertising strapline has a double entendre to it.
So I didn’t really think about writing about the Turkish advert argument until this week when I saw an advertisement for Coppertone sun tan lotion in many national newspapers. It is an image I remember from my youth: a pretty young girl, aged about 3 or 4, with her blond hair in bunches. She has a great suntan, made all the more obvious because you see her “white patch” when her pet dog playfully pulls at the seat of her swimming pants.
It is a cute scene, which obviously in Turkey is viewed as innocent. But you will not see the same advert in the UK any more. Coppertone withdrew the design about two decades ago, following complaints that it could provoke attacks on young children by men with pedophiliac tendencies.
Seeing again an image that caused a lot of debate abroad made me realize that public sensitivities, or the definition of what is normal decent behavior and what is shocking, changes from culture to culture.
It also varies within one culture. For example the swimwear argument arose because some in Turkey think the ads were beautiful and acceptable, others find them offensive and inappropriate.
In Turkey it seems it is the local authority that is the arbiter of public decency, and what is acceptable in an ad or not.
I did a bit of research on the Coppertone ad in the UK. Was it banned by a local authority, or a national government body? No, in the UK the advertising industry regulates itself.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the independent body set up by the advertising industry to police the rules laid down in the advertising codes. The strength of the self-regulatory system lies in both the independence of the ASA and the support and commitment of the advertising industry to the standards of the codes, protecting consumers and creating a level playing field for advertisers. Following complaints to the ASA, Coppertone pulled its advert, as they realized that an ad that causes concern or is offensive to part of the target audience is not a good ad. If instead of attracting your potential customers it puts them off, it is not just a waste of money, it may do damage to your brand and cause existing customers to switch away from your product.
Basically the rules outlaw misleading advertising and offensive advertising. Advertisements are not allowed to mislead consumers. This means that advertisers must hold evidence to prove the claims they make about their products or services before an ad appears. Ads are not allowed to cause serious or widespread offense. Special care needs to be taken on the grounds of sex, race, religion, sexuality and disability.
These rules are summarized by the slogan: legal, decent, honest and truthful.
* Legal: Marketing communications should comply with the law and should not incite anyone to break it.
* Decent: Marketers are urged to consider public sensitivities.
* Honest: Marketers should not exploit the credulity, lack of knowledge or inexperience of consumers.
* Truthful: No marketing communication should mislead, or be likely to mislead, by inaccuracy, ambiguity or exaggeration.
Not a bad checklist for any communication we make, whether it be an advert from a company or an email I write to my friends about any subject. Or even for an article in Today’s Zaman. I hope you think my comments on Turkey and cultural issues pass the legal, decent, honest, truthful test.
Note: Keep your questions and observations coming: I want to ensure this column is a help to you, Today’s Zaman’s readers. Email: c.mcpherson@todayszaman.com
