Richard and Judy 'free Red Bull ad' lands C4 fine

by Joe Lepper, Brand Republic 03-Aug-05, 12:15

LONDON - Richard and Judy have landed Channel 4 a fine from regulator Ofcom for giving undue prominence to the drink Red Bull during an item on their early evening show.

The regulator handed the broadcaster a £5,000 fine, as well as ordering it to transmit its findings, following an item broadcast on July 19 2004, which received four complaints from viewers.

Those who complained suggested the item, which was screened to make amends for inaccuracies in a previous item broadcast two months earlier about the dangers of excessive caffeine intake, was more akin to a free ad for Red Bull rather than a journalistic piece.

Ofcom quoted one viewer as saying they were "left wondering whether the item had been produced by the makers of Red Bull and whether the broadcast was made to avoid legal action".

In ruling that the item was in breach of its codes relating to undue prominence, Ofcom said: "Channel 4 Television had demonstrated uncharacteristically poor judgment, resulting in what appeared to be, at the very least, a loss of editorial control."

In its response, Channel 4 acknowledged that the code had been breached, but did not think it was serious enough to merit a sanction.

In handing down the fine, Ofcom also noted that the 'Richard & Judy' programme had been in trouble before over a complaint made in 2003 about accuracy to the Independent Television Commission, one of the bodies the regulator succeeded.

The ITC ruled that the two presenters had wrongly represented controversial research about dyslexia, dyspraxia and attention disorder treatment as fact, rather than as part of a wider debate about the issue.

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