Pot Noodle's horn ads escape ban after wave of complaints

by Julia Pearlman, Brand Republic 18-May-05, 08:40

LONDON - Pot Noodle has been given the all clear by the advertising watchdog despite racking up 572 complaints from viewers who said the 'Have you got the Pot Noodle Horn' ads were tasteless and offensive.

The complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority related to two different ads and a shorter version, all created by HHCL/Red Cell for Unilever Foods.

In the 40-second execution, a man is seen walking into a bar with a noticeable bulge in his trousers, and his friends accuse him of "having the horn".

The man denies it at first but then admits that he does have the horn, at which point he pulls out a real hunting horn from his trousers and blows it loudly.

A struggle starts for the horn, which swings round and hits the man's girlfriend in the face causing her to fall off her chair. The man says: "OK, I have got the Pot Noodle horn. It's big, it's brassy and I'm going to blow it".

Viewers complained that the ads were embarrassing and thought it unacceptable to use such a blatant sexual reference to sell a food product.

Many viewers also claimed that the shorter version of the ad still contained verbal innuendos, however, the ASA decided that without the visual context, the ad was appropriate for viewing after 7.30pm.

The advertising watchdog said that the agency's intention was to convey people's desire for Pot Noodle in a light-hearted and humorous way and accepted the pun referred to sexual arousal and might not be to every viewer's taste.

It argued that the advertiser and agency had taken great care to ensure the advertising was not too explicit or inappropriate after 9pm.

The BACC thought the ads were similar in style to the 'Carry On' films and argued that the humour and "pantomime" style of the ads took the edge off the sexual innuendo.

It is not the first time that Pot Noodle has landed itself in controversy. An earlier campaign has the tagline "The slag of all snacks" banned from all of its advertising.

In January, radio ads for Pot Noodle were banned before the watershed after complaints that the ads were found to be unsuitable for children to listen to.

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