Better not spoken:

Eros and Thanatos in some European forbidden ads

Anabela Gradim
Universidade da Beira Interior
Portugal
agradim@ubi.pt / anabelagradim@sapo.pt

This work draws on some advertising campaigns forbidden in Portugal in the past
five years, and analyses their content, providing examples of messages considered
unsuitable under the existing legal frame. The case studies picked focus on questionable
content in the domains of the ethical, taste, or moral values, overlooking the much larger
number of complaints concerned with legal technicalities, and which also account for a
vast number of suspended campaigns.
The purpose in doing so is to find out what went wrong with those messages in
fact, so wrong it made them forbidden. Advertisers face a paradox which sometimes
leads them to cross the thin line between acceptable taste or morals, and not. Whilst
struggling to catch the publics eye and the scarce good attention is ads have to stand
out from the ever growing myriad of advertising stimuli, and thats when sometimes they
cross the line, uttering things better not spoken.
Reasons for complaint arent static; they evolve accompanying societys
concerns, as the rise of complaints about environmental claims, or food advertising for
children in the UK in 2007, clearly shows1. Other obvious subjects that tend to distress
the public are violent imagery, sexual explicit content, and discrimination, all three
guaranteed to be found in every countries top ten ruled out adverts.. As to the reasons for
a complaint, most have to do with offensiveness, misleadingness, and harm, although the
standards of what is considered offensive can vary from one country to another, and
often do.2

. In ASA Annual Report 2007, available for download at the Advertising Standards Authority website,
http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/
2
. Marithe & Girbauds outdoors campaign, ruled out in Milan, Italy, and which presented no problems in
Paris or New York, is a good example.

This paper argues transgression in ads can ultimately be reduced to two main
models, best described by the ancient metaphor of Eros and Thanatos. The first metaphor
might be depicted as the self-preservative instinct, and includes sexual instinct, love and
procreation among its defining characters; Thanatos reports to the opposite, the death
instinct which comprises manifestations such as violence, hate, murder, or war, amongst
other negative features. Though both instincts are vital to human survival, the paper
argues that ads risk being outcast mainly when they exaggerate one or another, thus
bringing out their negative side in a shocking or non appropriate manner.
After analyzing some of the Portuguese ads which incur in too much Eros, or too
much Thanatos, the paper draws a comparison to similar products forbidden in other
European states, inquiring on the subjectivity of standards that allow for a campaign to
be forbidden in one place, and allowed elsewhere.
The materials gathered for this study have for source the Portuguese selfregulatory advertising authority, ICAP Instituto Civil da Autodisciplina da
Publicidade, and similar organisms in the United Kingdom, Italy, Ireland, France and
Spain; as well as the information presented by EASA, The European Advertising
Standards Alliance, which brings together national advertising self-regulatory
organizations and organizations representing the advertising industry in Europe.

ADVERTISING AND MORE(S)

Adverts are fascinating study objects for any semiotician, for they present
complex structures, highly condensed, often multimedia (most ads involve at least image
and text), manifest aesthetic concerns, and possess very definite goals: one way or
another, all adverts involve persuasion.
One of the richest complex objects pop culture has produced, sometimes halfway
between design and art, adverts are highly complex signs, semiotically challenging for
the discipline that studies the signs and symbols as elements of communication. In fact,
any general theory of signs cannot but find such analysis attractive. From a despised
predator to a cultural treasure, advertising posters are now discussed just as seriously
as art exhibitions, theatre premieres and new novels. We are now seeing the logical
consequence of the shift in accent once formulated by Marcel Duchamp, who enthroned

the beholder as the real author of the work of art. An aesthetic surplus over and above the
functional is certainly present, and it is sufficient to provoke artistic interpretation.3
Roland Barthess discovery of denotation/connotation systems and of myth as a
higher order semiotic system, actually paved the way for a semiotics of image, but also
for a semiotics of objects and their use, for, one may ask, what else are adverts about?
After Barthes work, the study of signs and symbols as elements of communicative
behavior, and the analysis of systems of communication as language, gestures, or
clothing had its own foundation and could heartily be pursued by critics and
academics.
Furthermore, a general theory of signs and symbolism, following Charles Morris
1938 article, Foundations of a Theory of Signs4, is usually divided into the branches of
syntactics, semantics and pragmatics, and adverts present unquestionable richness in any
of these distinct, but inseparable, branches.
Syntactically, adverts constitute what Saussure called visual, complex, non-linear
signs, which can be apprehended/read in a wide range of orders, and whose order of
apprehension has semantic consequences, that is, imparts on their meaning.
Semantically, adverts are fascinating, for most imply several levels of meaning, rising
from the unambiguous literal meaning, to sophisticated suggestion or stylish hint
directed to the unconscious, and all the degrees in between. Of course, the meaning of an
adverts meaning is closely tied to its pragmatic qualities, and, in this department, the
agency creatives work should be valued for the complexity of the goals it sets its heart to
accomplish.
Advertising is persuasion.5 Every advert has to captivate, seduce, mesmerize,
charm or enchant, generate repulse or arouse passion and desire; and does this through
the traditional means of persuasion, ethos, pathos and logos,6 relying on the creatives

. AA.VV., Rejected Unpublished, Best Rejected Advertising, editors, Bonik, Gotz, Pauser and
Zwangsleitner, 1997, Grey Press, Berlin, p. 7.
4
. MORRIS, Charles, Foundations of the Theory of Signs, in Foundations of the Unity of Science
Toward an International Encyclopedia of Unified Science, ed. NEURATH et all., vol. I, 1955, The
University of Chicago Press, p. 77-138.
5
. Indeed, in a radical sense, any communicative act, simple has it might be, is persuasion; or, to use
Austins terminology, constatives cannot be severed from performatives, and all enuntiation, in some level,
performs.
6
. These three means of persuasion, closely tied to the three types of auditory, and the three genres of
discourse, where theorized by Aristotle. Cf. ARISTTELES, Retrica, Imprensa Nacional Casa da
Moeda, Lisboa, 1998

ability to see what is possibly persuasive in every given case, that is, on his ability to
discover the best persuasion means available in a specific situation.
This said, were entering the realm of the effects, that is, the semiotic branch of
pragmatics, which cares to study the relations established by signs with their
interpretants, or the effect they produce on those who interpret them.
These signs coming from advertising constitute a rich study object not only
because of the aspects mentioned, but also for their social relevance. Adverts embody the
phenomena of everyday culture as few other objects in our world are able to. In effect,
when devoting to forbidden or rejected campaigns, one is exploring this social,
communitarian and subjective feeling towards a form of public art, for what bothers
complainers, most of the times, arent private vices, but the public display of such sins.
The reasons given for rejecting the campaigns reflect the moral, aesthetic and
political sensitivities and boundaries of our time and of the respective regions. Creatives
today are increasingly faced with over-cautiousness hardly any jokes are conceivable
which could not be said to provoke or insult somebody or other. 7 In other words,
advertising, and forbidden adverts, are a faithful reflex of societys mores, and of what
is, or not, to be said. Rejected advertising has become an important mirror of the morals
of public communication, of the climate of society.8
Studying rejected or withdrawn ads may also be seen as ethnography of a
communitys values; and of the subjects that, for one reason or another, attract the
publics sensitiveness. These reasons, the mores of what can be publicly communicated,
are volatile and highly depending on the momentum. For instance, after 9/11, adverts
featuring explosives, whatever their content, became immediately offensive, distasteful
and inappropriate.
Our aim in this research around some European forbidden ads is to find out what
went wrong with those messages, making them unsuitable for public communication,
and we undertake that task knowing that sometimes creatives cross the borderline of the
acceptable, but other times are simply caught by pragmatic adverse effects they hadnt
foreseen.

. AA.VV., Rejected Unpublished, Best Rejected Advertising, editors, Bonik, Gotz, Pauser and
Zwangsleitner, 1997, Grey Press, Berlin, p. 7.
8
.Idem.

BETTER NOT SPOKEN

In Portugal probably the most controversial campaign of the last few years was
engendered in 2007 by Tagus, a beer brand.9 Tagus presented a campaign based on the
concept of Hetero pride, which intended to build a virtual community of registered
users around the site www.orgulhohetero.com.10
Are you hetero? Come and register in www read the controversial posters,
featuring a girl, or a boy, being whorshiped by the
opposite sex.
The

campaign

immediately

generated

widespread debate, burst several flames on the

blogosphere, and became a political fact. The
Portuguese gay association Panteras Rosa11 launched a
counter-campaign, and filed a complaint in ICAP
(Instituto Civil da Autodisciplina da Publicidade), alleging
the campaign violated article 13th of the Portuguese
Constitution.12 The complaint objected against the use of the
word pride, chosen by gay activists to contrast with the
shame many homosexuals feel in a homophobic society. They also claimed the campaign
promoted discrimination among the youngsters and glorified the image of an intolerant
youth, closed to human diversity.

On their turn, Tagus owners alleged the campaign

didnt intended to be offensive, but irreverent; its goal
was to create a campaign that would surprise by its
original approach, but without prejudices, and always in
a

positive

perspective,

respecting

everyones

orientation.

. All deliberations concerning Portuguese campaigns can be found at www.icap.pt

. The site was set offline by the brand owners, as soon as the campaign was discontinued, and the address
mentioned could be roughly translated as www.heteropride.com.
11
. Literally, Pink Panthers.
12
. Article 13th reads the following: 1. All citizens have the same social dignity, and are equal in the eyes
of the law. 2. No one can be privileged, favoured, harmed, deprived of any right or duty by reason of its
ascendance, sex, race, language, origin, religion, political or ideological ideals, education, wealth,
economical situation, social condition or sexual orientation.
10

Sumolis, the owner of the brand, stated they cherish and respect individual
freedom and diversity, and thinks sexual orientation only concerns the individual, and
should not be subject to value judjments or discrimination. All sexual orientations are
legitimate, and should be proudly assumed.
Nonetheless, and in light of the complaints, the brand announced they would
reformulate the campaign, and voluntarily withdrawn the controversial images. This
didnt stop ICAP from analysing the facts, and in the sequence of the process, the
complaint was not upheld, although two members of the jury voted against that decision.

Impersonating Tagus campaign,

some posters elaborated by Panteras
Rosa purported to show the reasons of
their

discontent.

The

legend

accompanying this one reads: 2001

Egypt 50 men arrested, tortured and
condemned for homosexual acts
.

The legends read, respectively: 2006 Gay

Pride

Jerusalem

participant

continues

marching, after being stabbed by a far-right

activist, 2007, Iran: execution of men
convicted

by

homosexual

acts,

and

Homophobic campaign of American evangelist

groups.

Considered demeaning to women, for other reasons, was the promotion of a

Portuguese supermarket near Lisbon. Under the slogan Mammy buys, and we offer to
the daughter, Vileda, a cleaning products brand, sought to promote the sales of a mop.
In buying a mop, a mini toy mop would be offered to the daughter. The complaint
claimed the promotion suggested certain household chores can only be performed by
daughters, and was deemed sexist, discriminatory, and in violation of the constitutional
principle of equality. The complainer argued the systematic use of women in this type
of campaign doesnt contribute to gender equality, and to man and womens equality in
their social roles; the campaign, not only naturalizes the situation in which women are
permanently overburdened with domestic chores, as legitimates and perpetuates an
unfair sexual division of work, conditioning young girls to perpetuate such models.
Vileda argued the promotion wasnt discriminatory, but based in objective, real
data, which show the target public of that product are mostly women; and gave examples
of other campaigns of the brand, featuring men doing housework.
ICAP considered Viledas message had no negative impact in what concerns
womens dignity, mothers or daughters, and it didnt affect their rights, reason why the
complaint was not upheld. Nonetheless, one of the members of the jury voted against this
decision, arguing the campaign treats unequally what is equal and thus
consubstantiates sex based discrimination.
Two other campaigns recently suspended in Portugal in 2007 were car-related.
One had to do with a radio spot about Chevrolet Captiva Seven. The spot featured a
woman in labour, talking to her husband in a cell phone and telling their child is about to
be born. The husband pretends he cant hear her, fakes communication interferences, and
hags up the phone. Next, it informs the salesman it was his wife on the phone, and the
spot continues with the car campaign and the deal, closing with the slogan:
Opportunities that really cant wait.
The complaint considered the ad violated the principles of Decency, Social
Responsibility, and Respect for Consumers Rights, by violating principles of ethics,
morals and conduct, incited to lie and showed how it can be done (making noises to
fake bad communication), and ignores and exploits the wifes state of need.
Chevrolet, which had already suspended the campaign, claimed this should be
read in the context of humour, and that, although the advert might not be funny at all, it
couldnt admit it is illegal or offensive of morals and custom. The advert was described
7

as being bizarre and anecdotal, intended to be humorous, and the advertiser claimed
it isnt indecent, immoral, doesnt exploit no one, doesnt attempt against health or
safety, and it doesnt denigrate anyone.
According to the decision of ICAPs jury, however, the spot violated the
principles of Decency (offence to good customs and general morals); and it wasnt
bizarre at all, in that the situation depicted could be reproduced in the Portuguese
society. Offence against Social Responsibility was also found, and ICAPs Advertising
Ethics Jury voted the campaign already voluntarily suspended should not reappear in
the media.
A banking product offering credit solutions to car purchase Solues Auto
BES

13

was also ruled out by ICAP. The campaign was made up of seven TV spots,

simulating the sales of automobiles to several consumers, by different salesman. It starts

with a off-voice saying car salesmen arent all alike, and then goes typifying the car
salesman in 6 different categories: The Altruistic (Im just not making any money with
this car! None.; The Alter Ego (If I were you Id buy.); The Friends Friend (Pedro
Melo? I know very well Pedro Melo); The Sentimental (Ill give you a discount
because I like you); The Generous (Your car is worth 70, but Ill give you two
thousand); and The Accomplice (If my boss knows Im giving you this discount).
Catalogued through these imagined types, to each salesman we find a different actor,
storyboard and scene. The spots end with the slogan: Because theyre Pros, and youre
not.
The complaint claimed the campaign scorned and ridiculed car salesmens image,
and was disrespectful. It was also considered disloyal concurrence in that it discredited
competitors, in this case, salesmen, all alike.
The responsible for the campaign alleged the message was not to be considered
deceitful, for everything that was advertised (BES Solues Auto) was truthful. The
accusation of treating salesmen with contempt was also denied, on the basis that the
campaign presents stereotypes of common sales techniques, and so mentioning it is not
disrespectful. Furthermore, at the end of the advert its said they know because theyre
pros, passing an image of efficiency and professionalism. Disloyal concurrence was
denied on the basis of both activities (lending money/selling cars) not being direct
competitors to one another.

13

. The TV spot can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUcD6sUI1Sk

The jury found there was no disloyal concurrence, for the activities developed are
not direct competitors; and discarded the accusation of deceit, for the allegations
concerning the product (credit) were truthful. Nonetheless, said the campaign denigrated
and ridiculed car salesmen image, because it made apparent a certain idea of lie and
deceit. The complaint was upheld on the basis of violating article 16 of ICAPs conduct
code, and therefore, suspended.14
In Italy, recently, three advertising campaigns have made the headlines: Dolce &
Gabbana, Marithe & Franois Girbaud, and Oliviero Toscani.
The Gabbana ad featured three
man and a woman in a situation
suggesting gang rape, and was banned
from Italian publications in 2007, after
being banned, for the same reasons, in
Spain.15 The advertisement showing a
woman pinned to the ground by the
wrists by a bare-chested man, with other
men in the background looking on, was said to offend the dignity of the woman, in the
sense that the feminine figure is shown in a degrading manner. The woman has an
alienated expression, with an absent look. The woman in the ad is immobilised and
subjected to a man's will and because of the passive and helpless position of the
woman relative to the men around her, (the image evokes) the representation of abuse or
the idea of violence towards her is present, the IAP said.
In France new posters from the
same campaign were considered porn
chic, and banned using the following
arguments: Ces visuels, diffuss en presse
magazine et quotidienne, reprsentent un
univers noir, tendu,

14

. ICAPs deliberation can be found at:

http://www.icap.pt/icapv2/icap_site/deliberacao_detalhe.php?AG4JPQ51=ADotela9Xr1&AHAJJg5i=&A
GoJNwtela9Xr1tela9Xr1=ADEJag42
15
. Extracts of the deliberation can be found at http://www.iap.it/it/cdc/2007/c0292007.htm

thtral et ultra-chic : de jeunes gens

en habits sombres y sont figurs, parfois
accompagns de femmes nues, lun dentre
eux tant allong, mourant ou dj mort,
une balle dans le front ou une blessure
larme blanche sur le torse. Debout, fig, se
tient un personnage tenant larme du crime,
un pistolet ou un poignard. Ces scnes
constituent des entorses manifestes aux rgles de la profession qui bannissent la violence
en publicit, the Bureau de Vrification de la Publicit said.
Another ad banned in the city of Milan but which passed along with no
problems, or complaints,
in Paris and New York
was Marithe and Franois
Girbauds fashion advert
featuring the Last Supper.
The imagery of the
campaign was inspired by
Dan Brown's bestseller
"The da Vinci Code", and the figure plays with Da Vincis painting, namely by figuring
half-dressed characters, and by inverting the sexes of Da Vincis painting.16

Finally, Oliviero
Toscanis

shock

billboards and print

ads, conceived for
the griffe Nolita,
made the headlines
for obvious reasons, and ended up banned at least in Italy and France. Nolita, Italian
fashion brand, selected 27 year old anorexic model Isabelle Caro for their new ads
debuting at Milan Fashion Week.17

16

. Better yet, allegedly inverting the sex, for the man who appears on back in the advert, is not clearly a
woman in Da Vincis painting although that it is a woman, is one of the claims of Dan Browns novel.

10

The IAP -- Istituto dellAutodisciplina Pubblicitaria -- said the campaign violated

their code that advertising has to be honest, truthful and correct and must not offend
moral, civil and religious beliefs and respect human dignity in all its forms and
expressions.18 For the IAP, the campaign risulta offensiva per la dignit della donna,
in quanto le figure femminili a seno nudo, esposte al pubblico come in vetrina, quasi a
sostituire i veri oggetti da reclamizzare (ovvero vestiti), vengono strumentalizzate al fine
unico di attirare l'attenzione dei destinatari, alla stregua di oggetti da usufruire. Null'altro,
infatti, sembra giustificare la scelta creativa, che anzi ha proprio il dichiarato intento di
"stupire". Tutto ci in spregio a quanto previsto dall'art. 10 del CAP, secondo cui "la
pubblicit deve rispettare la dignit della persona umana in tutte le sue forme ed
espressioni.

Italian

authorities

also expressed concern the

campaign

could

negative

influence

impart
on

children or adolescents, by
picturing

an

image

that

could be considered desirable, and to be model after, by those target groups.19 French
authorities, through BVP, also upheld this claim, saying : Enfin, et plus grave, compte
tenu des ressorts spcifiques de la maladie en question, ce visuel tait de nature susciter
ou aggraver des vocations anorexiques chez des personnes dj atteintes ou sur le point
de sombrer.

17

. A video from the campaign can also be found at: http://www.wat.tv/video/toscani-photographieanorexie-e3tf_a3ev_.html

18
. Il Presidente del Comitato di Controllo, visto il messaggio pubblicitario Citymoda "Quando il proprio
stile diverso, stupisce sempre" rilevato su affissione diffusa nella citt di Bari nel mese di aprile 2007,
ritiene lo stesso manifestamente contrario agli artt. 10 - Convinzioni morali, civili, religiose e dignit della
persona - e 11 - Bambini e adolescenti - del Codice di Autodisciplina Pubblicitaria.
19

. Il contesto nel quale il messaggio diffuso, cartelloni nelle strade cittadine, comporta inoltre che tale
impatto negativo sia massimo. Essi infatti possono colpire l'attenzione dei minori provocando sensazioni di
disagio, in http://www.iap.it/it/cdc/2007/c0762007.htm

11

ENVIRONMENTAL CLAIMS ON THE SPOTLIGHT

The French regulation authorities, BVP Bureau de Vrification de la Publicit,
have also been busy these last few years, and besides the aforementioned French cases,
four more come to our attention, two having to do with environmental claims, a
relatively new category in this business.
Diesels campaign on
Global

Warming

was

considered provocative, and

thus forbidden in France.
The

campaign

features

several models, in light, chic

clothing, in different world
famous scenarios, and is
accompanied with a legend
that reads Global Warming Ready.
The BVP said such imagery declined always the same idea: representing smiling
and tanned characters, in urban landscapes totally changed by Global Warming (the
Eiffel Tour on a tropical garden, Manhattan underwater, Rio de Janeiro flooded, etc). In
BVPs opinion, le tout suggre tout la fois que le rchauffement nest pas si
dsagrable que cela et quil suffirait dhabits lgers pour y faire face, that is, banalise,
voire relativise, le thme du changement climatique. Ce faisant, elle va lencontre des
nombreux efforts de mobilisation citoyenne engags par les pouvoirs publics.
Considered particularly inopportune, the campaign was banned from the French
landscape.

12

billboard

bottled

featuring

water

brand,

Cristaline, reading I dont

save in the water I drink.
For 5 more euros a month I
choose

Cristaline,

and

suggesting public company

water has quality flaws, was
soon object of complaint within BVP. The campaign involved two more ads, one
claiming water from public company tastes bad; and another featuring a WC and saying
I dont drink the water I use.
The French authorities argued all advertising messages must be loyal with
relation to consumers and concurrent products, and that le dnigrement nest pas un
mode de publicit acceptable. The messages were considered particularly inopportune
in the context of growing sensitivity to sustainable development issues, and BVP
recommended the campaign be terminated.
Improper images account for the
other two most interesting French bans.
One is an advert by the low-cost airline
company
President

Ryanair,
Sarkozy

that
and

his

features
Italian

girlfriend Carla Bruni. The couple

didnt liked their images being used
without consent, filed a complaint in French courts, and won.
Eastpack The return of the living-dead, was a campaign using zombie imagery
particularly crude, that motivated several shock reactions from French citizens and
organizations. The living-dead were considered too realistic, and the images distressful.
Lun dentre eux, particulirement odieux, reprsente
un zombie obse, visage ensanglant, tranant dans son sac des
membres humains dgoulinant de sang, restes dun pique-nique
manifestement apprci par le personnage. Le tout accompagn
de la mention non traduite built to resist, says BVP.
Though recognizing for youngsters such imagery might

13

be considered humorous, the authorities regret its posting in high circulation commercial
zones, for such a death representation results shocking to the general public. Considering
the advert violated the principle that la publicit doit viter toute scne de violence,
directe ou suggre, the campaign was banned, and the agency warned against using it
again.
In the United Kingdom, in 2007, there were 2458 ads changed or withdrawn
following the Advertising Standards Authority action, which received the record number
of 24.192 complaints about 14080 advertisements. Yet, from the top 10 most
complained ads, only four saw the objections upheld.
It might have seemed a good idea to the Department of Health, to sponsor an
anti-smoking campaign featuring men and women caught on a fish hook, with the legend
The average smoker needs five thousand cigarettes a year and encouraging people to
get unhooked.
The campaign attracted the record
number of 774 complaints, and was designed
to encourage smokers to quit, but complaints
were that the TV, national press, poster and
internet acts were offensive, frightening and
distress children, explained the authorities.20
The jury of UK national authority
decided the ads were unlikely to cause
offence or distress to adult viewers but felt
that two of the TV ads and the poster ads
could frighten and distress children and
upheld complaints on this basis.21
The second most disturbing English campaign in 2007 was from Trident chewing
gum, and the TV and Cinema ads received 519 complaints.22
The ASA Jury considered the ads did not incite racial
intolerance or discrimination but recognised the stereotype

20

. AA.VV., ASA Annual Report 2007, available for download at http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/, p. 11.
. Idem.
22
. This TV ad can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d7g8O_GHEw
21

14

depicted in the ads had, unintentionally, caused deep offence to a significant minority of
viewers.
Offensive,

sexist,

and

demeaning to woman were the main

reasons that led 219 citizens to
complaint about Kepak Rustlers Date
TV ad.23 The ads depicted a woman
in a mans flat. The man started
microwaving food, as a sofa rotated
revealing

the

woman

in

her

underwear. A voice-over said: if only everything was as quick as Rustlers.

The ASA jury said the ad was humorous, and thus unlikely to cause widespread
offence, or to be seen as sexist or demeaning to women; but, as they passed during a
show dedicated to children, we upheld complaints about the scheduling of the
advertisements.
In Ireland a poster and press ad for Unilever - Lynx shower-gel was found to be
overtly sexual. The ad featured a man and two women posed on a leather couch. The
women were dressed in lingerie and the man was wearing a pair of jeans with an open
belt. There were scratch marks on his naked torso and a coin slot in his abdomen. The
man had a smile on his face and a sweat like sheen on his body. The headline of the ad
stated Let the Game Continue. The new cooling, reviving shower gel. Lynx Shock.24
There was to be shock, alright. Viewers complained women were portrayed as
sex objects, and that the use of sexual imagery to sell non-sex related products was
grossly inappropriate. Then, a number of complainants objected to the suggestive
nature of the advertising and some complainants also objected to children and teenagers
being exposed to such materials.
The ASAI Complaints Committee considered that the use of sexual imagery to
advertise an unrelated product was however unacceptable and violated the Irish
advertising conduct code. The Committee also pointed out that while images of women
in lingerie were generally acceptable in advertising lingerie, such images were not
usually acceptable in the advertising of unrelated products or services. As a
23
24

. The ad can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx8NiSfxnYE&feature=related

. The full deliberation can be seen at http://www.asai.ie/complaint_view.asp?CID=403&BID=18

15

consequence of this standing, Unilever was told to withraw the campaing, and not to use
this kind of advertisement again.

EROS AND THANATOS IN THESE ADS

After analysing the content of some Portuguese and European forbidden

campaigns, our purpose was to classify them according to two major categories, Eros
and Thanatos. Originally, these were figures of Greek mythology that can be traced back
to Homer and Hesiod. In Psychology the concepts were treated by Freud in his works
Ego & the Id, and Beyond the Pleasure Principle, and presented as the Life Instinct
named Eros and a death drive usually known as Thanatos. Eros represents humans life
instinct and is connected to love, procreation, existence, and conservation; while
Thanatos is the death drive that is said to compel humans to involve in risky, selfdestructive or violent behaviour, and represents anything that can question the
individuals safety and preservation.
The point as these ads all will show is that Eros and Thanatos, used here not
in their strict, Freudian sense, but as a metaphor, are really two faces of the same coin, as
inseparable as the two faces of a paper leaf. In fact, behaviours such as thrill seeking,
aggression, and risk taking, are viewed as actions which stem from Thanatos instinct, but
in reality the analysis of such behaviours in other species shows theyre used to prove
health and genetic fitness, are used to compete for females, and thus arent but a radical
stem of Eros, for in the end they represent the eternal desire of perpetuating ones genetic
pool.
As to Eros being closely tied to Thanatos, popular culture has grasped that many,
many years ago, and thats why there are recurrent sayings in many languages over love
turning into hate; or, at least since Shakespeare and Goethe, of as love can turn into
death.
This same inextricable connection of these two paradoxical tendencies can be
found in our adverts. Here, we can find those where Eros appears to be dominant,
comprising ads that were banned over sexual explicit content, and sexist demeaning
content; and adverts where Thanatos seems to be dominant, comprising those who figure
violence, dangerous behaviours, harm, scorn, contempt, discrimination and racist content
(each of these motives perfectly fit to provoke the outburst of violence).
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However, looking closely to the ads analysed, one sees for instance, how the
dominant trait Eros (overdosed Eros, which determined the ban), is apt to turn into
Thanatos, as in the case of Dolce & Gabanna ads, portraying sex on the verge of turning
into violence; or, conversely, how the featured dominant trait Thanatos representing
danger, death and destruction can have an irresistible appeal to be turned into sex, that
is, Eros, and the example here is Diesels Global Warming campaign.
Bearing in mind in our categories Eros represents sexual or sexist content, and
Thanatos violent, dangerous behaviour, scorn, harm or racist content, we can divide the
ads analysed in these categories the following way

EROS

THANATOS

Viledas mop

Tagus Beer

Dolce & Gabbana

Chevrolet Captiva

Franois & Marithe Girbaud

BES Credit

Lynx Shock

Trident

Ryanair

Anti-smoking hook campaign

Rustler

Nolita
Cristaline water
Global Warming
Zombies

All the ads present traits that can be led back to these two metaphors, and some
mingle those traits, showing how inextricably chained they are in our existence. The
adverts also provide a fairly good sketch of public mores in Old Europe, leading us to
reflect on whats appropriate, or not, in public communication acts. But be still, though,
you beating hearts, for as we can see in the deliberations, it isnt that Victorian
Puritanism and censorship is alive and kicking these days, just that private vices are one
thing, and the public display of such sins another quite different, reminding us that
surely, some things are better not spoken.
.

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REFERENCES:
ASA Advertising Standards Authority, http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/
EASA European Advertising Standards Alliance, http://www.easa-alliance.org/
IAP Istituto dellAutodisciplina Pubblicitaria, http://www.iap.it/en/final_04.htm
ICAP Instituto Civil da Autodisciplina da Publicidade, www.icap.pt
ASAI Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland, http://www.asai.ie/
BVP Bureau de Vrification de la Publicit, http://www.bvp.org/fre/
Autocontrol Asociacin para la Autorregulacin de la Comunicacin Comercial,
http://www.autocontrol.es/

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