The Scotsman reports that police officers are calling for an Irn-Bru 32 advertisement to be pulled because they claim it encourages violence.
But officers at Strathclyde Police's Violence Reduction Unit said the 30-second advert glamorises violence and portrays Glasgow as full of gangsters.Two complaints from police in the VRU have been made to TV watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Detective Chief Superintendent John Carnochan and deputy Karen McCluskey have both voiced their concerns at the ad vert. Mr Carnochan said: "We look at violence and its causes very seriously, no matter where it is portrayed."
There have been a further 17 complaints from members of the public since the advert hit the screens in March.
The ASA has launched an investigation into the complaints and will issue a decision within weeks.They can order the advert to be withdrawn if the complaints are found to be justified.
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This isn't the first advert to cause complaints by the police.
Last month another Irn-Bru ad caused fury among police officers when it called police "pigs".The billboard advert, part of a sales campaign, depicted a sheep with the caption: "I nicked the cow's Irn-Bru so she told the pigs."
Police officers reacted with fury to the advert, branding it "distasteful". They said that condoning the derogatory term would encourage young people to show even less respect to the police.
The billboard was seen initially by a policeman in the Yoker area of Glasgow. The officer, who refused to be named, said the advert had caused outrage among colleagues.
Another Irn-Bru advert was criticised by the ASA last year for mocking transsexuals.
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uhhh, don't they have anything slightly more violent to complain about?
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Permalink1. The tv spotisn't violent - it's just awful.
What were the casting specs? "We're looking for someone who can overact and bulge his eyes out. A lot. And then we want him to sit in a library for our spot that goes nowhere."
2. They used pig to describe the police? How assholish. Of course that should be pulled.
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PermalinkThis may have upset the police but it really upsets me that they (and the aforementioned members of the public) are driven to complain about this.
Meanwhile, outside in the real world there are people with genuine problems and violence is occuring, regardless of the existence of a 30 second long advert. If it was actually possible to see some proof directly linking this advert to some outburst of violent behaviour then I'd be satisified (though I find that highly unlikely).
Until then, a healthy feeling of distaste to all thsoe who felt compelled to complain about this advert.
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