Coroner criticises 'insensitive' cliff-jump advert

A Guinness advertisement depicting a man about to jump off the Cliffs of Moher was insensitive to families who have lost loved ones through suicide at the world-renowned location, a coroner said yesterday.

The Guinness advert, entitled "Quarrel", depicts a young man diving into water off the Cliffs of Moher before swimming to New York, where he walks into a bar to say "sorry" to a friend.

Clare county coroner, Isobel O'Dea, said the advertisement was "insensitive and could cause distress to families that have been bereaved".

In 2003 and 2004 an estimated 10 people lost their lives off the Cliffs of Moher. There has been no recorded suicide at the 200m (700ft) cliffs so far this year.

A letter released by RTÉ under the Freedom of Information Act shows that local Garda superintendent Seán Corcoran, who has been involved in a number of recovery operations of suicide victims at the cliffs, wrote to Guinness and RTÉ to express his serious concern over the advertisement.

Supt Corcoran wrote: "The advert is, to say the least, utterly thoughtless, needlessly cruel and distasteful.

"The Cliffs of Moher are known not only for their beauty but also, unfortunately, as a place where an untold number of suicides have been committed.

"Your advert is callous, insensitive, stressful and downright offensive to the parents and families of the many people of all ages who have unfortunately committed suicide from the cliffs. These people come not from Clare alone, but from all over Ireland."

The advert continues to be shown in Irish cinemas and had been running on Irish TV for over a year before ending its run in March.

In the response, Paul Mulligan, RTÉ's head of operations in commercial TV, said that the station's copy clearance committee shared Supt Corcoran's concerns at script stage.

However, the committee felt that the concept was far from reality and the execution of the particular scene in question was such that the advertisement was approved for broadcast.

The advert was also the subject of a number of complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

In response to complaints, the advertising agency who developed the advert, Irish International BBDO, said the advertisement went through much consumer research before and after its production. At no point did the issue of dangerous behaviour or suicide come up, they said.

There is no suggestion that the main character in the advert is committing suicide as in fact he emerges swimming and we see him arriving safely in New York. The tenor and mood of this advertisement is uplifting, the agency added.

In its ruling, the ASA did not uphold the complaint as "it did not consider that the advertisement either condoned or encouraged dangerous behaviour or suicide. Nevertheless, it was concerned that it appeared to have given rise to offence."

A spokeswoman for Guinness said that the man in the advertisement is seen emerging from the water and arriving to meet his friend, and there is no indication of how he entered the water to start his swim.

"Surely, therefore, despite the fact that people have lost loved ones at the Cliffs of Moher, the context of the film and its sequences create a very different and positive image."