Closer 'toddler death' ad provokes public outcry

The Advertising Standards Authority has received 24 complaints about a TV ad for Emap's celebrity title Closer.

Televised last week, the ad used its article on the accidental death of
toddler Abbie Livingstone-Nurse on a Cornish beach last month to promote
the magazine. Those who complained described the ad as 'insensitive,

inappropriate and distasteful', and 'a shameful use of the death of a

child'.

The ad, created by DDB London, is no longer running, as the title is a
weekly.

Separately, the ASA upheld complaints against an ad for Barclays Bank,
which showed the swollen face of a man stung by a bee.

The ad, which received 293 complaints, was developed by Bartle Bogle
Hegarty. It showed the man howling, covered in mud and weeds after a
series of mishaps.

The majority of complainants said the ad was offensive to people who
suffer from allergies, their friends and relatives, as it made light of
a potentially fatal situation. These points were upheld by the ASA.

Several complaints were not upheld, including claims that the ad scared
children, and was offensive as it was reminiscent of the alleged
mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by UK soldiers - it showed a policeman
with his foot on the man's body as another photographed him.