ASA to investigate BBH's Barclays spot

by Staff, Campaign 21-Jul-05, 15:30

LONDON - The Advertising Standards Authority has received a barrage of complaints about Bartle Bogle Hegarty's latest ad for Barclays' current account.

After five days on air, the ASA has received more than 100 complaints from people saying the ad belittles sufferers of anaphylactic shock.

The spot features a man on holiday who gets stung by a bee. His head swells up and, as he writhes around, he falls into a pond. As he emerges, covered in pondweed, the police mistake him for a

monster and shoot him with a tranquilliser dart. A voiceover says: "You are more likely to get arrested than change your bank account."

The ASA is investigating the claims and will then rule whether the ad is in breach of the advertising code.

The ad is the second BBH spot to face investigation from the ASA in the past few months. BBH's campaign for KFC, which featured people singing with their mouths full, was cleared in May despite a record 1,671 complaints.

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