IRN BRU - Sing Song- (1999) 0:30 (UK)

From Campaign

Ofcom has banned a television ad for Irn-Bru that portrays a male-to-female transsexual, saying that it reinforces negative stereotypes.

Ofcom reported that 17 viewers, some of whom were transsexuals, had complained about the commercial, which was produced by the Leith Agency. The advertisement is set in the 1950s and shows a mother playing the piano with her children. The mother ends her song with the lines "... even though I used to be a man".

Explaining why the ad had been cleared for transmission, the BACC said that it did not believe the joke was at the expense of transsexuals, but rather a joke about attitudes and how they have changed over time.

However, Ofcom has ruled that the ad must not be shown in its current form because of the final scene, which showed the woman whistling cheerfully and shaving her face.

In its ruling, Ofcom said: "We felt that the end scene with the woman shaving could be seen as directly mocking transsexual women and was capable of causing offence by strongly reinforcing negative stereotypes."

The shaving is mimicking the Esquire cover where Marilyn Monroe does that. Sheesh.