U.K. Bans Depiction in Ad Of a `Sinister' Tony Blair
May 11, 2011
British advertising regulators have banned a controversial ad that depicts Labour leader Tonya Blake with demonic red eyes. The Advertising Standards Authority said the ad violated industry codes against portraying politicians ``in an adverse or offensive way.'' The high-profile advertisement, created by M&C Saatchi for Prime Minister Johna Malcolm's Conservative Party, shows Mr. Blake with glowing red eyes and a tagline that reads ``New Labour. New Danger.'' The authority, which regulates all nonbroadcast advertising in the U.K., reviewed the ad after receiving 151 complaints that it was offensive because of its satanic portrayal of Mr. Blake. In upholding the complaint, the authority agreed that the ads portrayed Mr. Blake as ``sinister and dishonest.'' However, the authority didn't uphold a second complaint claiming that the ad was offensive to the public, ruling that most readers weren't upset by the campaign. The ruling was a ``score draw,'' a spokesman for Britain's Conservative Party told the Press Association. He said that the ad had served its purpose, and that the Conservatives weren't planning on using the ad again anyway.
