Hunky Dory adverts criticised

The company that owns Hunky Dorys has been accused of “thumbing their noses” at the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI) over a controversial ad campaign.

The National Women's Council of Ireland (NWCI) said the defiance by Largo Foods of the advertising watchdog showed the need for statutory regulation rather than self-regulation.

Despite being criticised by the authority for a rugby-themed campaign last year showing women in suggestive poses, Largo Foods unveiled a similar campaign this year featuring scantily-clad models playing Gaelic football.

The latest Hunky Dory campaign attracted 82 complaints, with most stating that the advertisement was "offensive, exploitative, tasteless, degrading and sexist". The previous campaign attracted over 300 complaints.

Largo Foods did not respond to the authority when it raised concerns about the latest campaign.

In a ruling today,  he authority's regulation committee said Largo Foods had "deliberately flouted the code with the intention of generating complaints, PR and subsequent notoriety".

However, it has no direct power of sanction over Largo Foods, as it is not a member of the authority.

It directed  publishers not to print the images of the scantily-clad models portrayed as Gaelic footballers.

Its board will now be considering a compulsory copy advice order which means that authority members, including most media, would seek the authority's advice before taking a similar advertisement in the future. As it is likely the authority would recommend that the advertisements not be published, it would mean they would refuse to take the advertisement.

However, NWCI chief executive Susan McKay said the latest incident showed that self-regulation of the advertising profession does not work and statutory powers were needed to bring companies to heal.

She said the strategy of "naming and shaming" errant companies no longer applies. "They cannot be shamed. They don't care that they are insulting women. This company has openly boasted that these campaigns have increased sales. This is an aggressive form of marketing and we need the ability to deal with it."

She said Largo Foods was not the only company which had used sexism to promote products recently.

ASAI chief executive Frank Goodman said "99.9 per cent of companies" which are the subject of complaints co-operate with the authority and are bound by their rulings.

"This is the only major failing I have had in the last seven years," he said. "Most people co-operate fully with the system. Generally we get compliance from most people, compliance from the media. The system works as it does in most countries on the basis of voluntary compliance.

"In one way that shows how well the system works," he said. "If we were having regular failings we could say the whole thing is not working, but that is not the case."

Largo Foods chief executive Raymond Coyle said the company was not a member of the authority "in any way shape or form" and does its own marketing through an agency in the United States.

"The ASAI is a voluntary organisation. The legal opinion says we are not bound by their rules," he said, adding that they did not respond to the authority because of legal advice they had received.