Watchdog rejects complaints

Posters advertising Frankie Boyle’s Channel 4 show have been cleared of promoting violence and drug abuse.

The Tramadol Nights billboard campaign was accused of being offensive and irresponsible because it featured cartoonish images of fuzzy-felt animals brutally attacking each other.

They showed a badger firing a machine gun, two rabbits attacking each other with hypodermic needles and another who had been stabbed with knives, as well as a rodent holding a chainsaw and pools of blood.

Thirteen people complained to the Advertising Standards Authority, stating the use of fuzzy-felt was likely to appeal to younger children, that the images could cause distress, and that it could encourage the use of recreational drugs.

In response, Channel 4 said that the campaign for the ‘famously challenging’ comic was designed to be comedic and surreal rather than a realistic depiction of violent or criminal behaviour, and there was nothing in the ad to suggest that this behaviour was encouraged.

The broadcaster added that any child seeing the poster would not understand the adult themes, and the post-watershed nature of the programme was clearly signalled by the inclusion of the transmission time and by the use of the word ‘night’ in the title.

However, the watchdog said that children would have seen such untargeted ads as billboards, and been attracted by the ‘brightly coloured fuzzy felt animals’.

But they have today ruled that that the images were so stylised and fantasy-like that most children would not perceive them as reflecting reality, and so unlikely to cause harm or distress.

They added: ‘While we acknowledge that the juxtaposition of the fuzzy felt characters and the violent imagery might make some consumers feel uncomfortable, we considered that most would interpret the sharp contrasts to be absurd and surreal. We concluded that the ad was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.’

Boyle’s show itself still faces investigation by broadcast watchdog Ofcom over its content, particularly over jokes about Katie Price's disabled son Harvey.

Published: 16 Mar 2011