...but over sponsorship, not jokes

December’s live broadcast breached commercial TV rules by allowing a representative from Highland Spring to plug their product on air.

After some banter between host Angus Deayton and presenter Frank Skinner, a woman from Highland Spring told the audience: ‘I think it’s lovely we have a chance to support an event that also does what Highland Spring tries to do all year round, and honestly that is to make people feel better.’

Investigating a viewer’s complaint, regulators Ofcom today ruled that there was ‘was no editorial justification for this reference’, which therefore broke the rules.

ITV had argued that it was customary for the event sponsor to present an award, often becoming the butt of a joke – and that some of the exposure in this case was due to Skinner complaining that Highland Spring received a bigger cheer from the audience than he had done.

The broadcaster added it would have preferred it if the sponsor had not become the object of comedy, and that this segment of the show had run entirely according to script.

However, the watchdog said: ‘The spontaneous and unscripted comedic exchanges referring to the sponsor were appropriately limited during the live broadcast, and were editorially justified, given the nature of the event.

‘However, the [Highland Spring representative] then took the opportunity to promote the sponsor. On transmission, this appeared to be a deliberate comment. We are concerned that the broadcaster considered it acceptable for the sponsor’s representative to refer to a benefit of the sponsor’s product in her introduction.’

Ofcom also ruled today that Domino’s Pizza’s sponsorship of The Simpsons on Sky One broke rules about promoting fatty foods to children.

Sky had said the credits did not specifically target children, as much of the Simpsons audience are adults, and that it promoted a delivery service rather than the pizzas themselves.

But the watchdog said: ‘The sponsorship as a whole focuses on the ordering of a pizza, the production of a pizza, waiting for a pizza, the despatch of a pizza, the delivery of a pizza and preparing to eat a pizza. While the credits do not feature any one complete pizza, it is clear, in Ofcom’s view, that the sponsorship of The Simpsons on Sky One promotes not only the Domino’s Pizza delivery service but also its pizzas,’ adding rather obviously: ‘Domino’s Pizza is a brand that viewers associate with pizzas.’

Published: 23 Feb 2009