Reebok TV ad hit with 'gun glamour' complaints

by Gemma Charles, Marketing 13-Apr-05, 09:49

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is investigating Reebok's controversial TV ad featuring US rapper 50 Cent after receiving a barrage of complaints claiming that the campaign glamourises gun crime.

The ASA has received 33 complaints since the campaign broke at the end of last month. The execution shows 50 Cent counting to nine, in reference to the fact that he has been shot nine times. The campaign was described by Bill Brown, chairman of the anti-gun charity Disarm Trust, as 'irresponsible and despicable' (Marketing, 16 March).

An ASA spokesman said: 'The general crux of the complaints is that it seems to be inappropriate in terms of references to gun crime, especially because of the impressionable teen audience it's being marketed to.'

A spokeswoman for Reebok, which held an emergency meeting to discuss the campaign at the end of last week, said: 'Reebok does not condone or support every action, choice or view expressed by the hundreds of athletes and entertainers who wear our products. However, we do support their individuality and their right to express themselves freely.'

The ad has not been pulled from broadcast.