ASA dismisses complaints against PSP ad campaign

The Advertising Standards Authority has decided not to take any action against Sony for producing a series of poster ads for the PSP which received 45 complaints.

Some complainants argued that the poster with the tagline "Strong language and scenes of a sexual nature here" was offensive and unsuitable for children, and objected to the fact that some posters appeared near schools and churches.

Others said that the line "Your girlfriend's white bits here" encouraged the objectification of women, and one complainant claimed that the poster could encourage younger PSP owners to take and store indecent photos of other children.

One complainant suggested the "Take a running jump" tagline was irresponsible as it could encourage people to jump near traffic, and another found "Saucy emails won't get you fired here" to be offensive.

In its defence, as detailed on the ASA website, ad agency TBWA/London said that each poster was designed to inform consumers about the PSP's multimedia functions.

TBWA argued that the ads were intended to be humourous and irreverent rather than offensive, adding that each poster featured "deliberately chosen language that maintained levels of taste and decency in all cases."

The ASA agreed that the ads did not contain any explicit language or images likely to cause widespread offence or harm to children. It was also noted that Sony took immediate action to remove the "Take a running jump" poster from tram and train stations after staff expressed safety concerns, and that the poster was unlikely to persuade people to jump near traffic.