A concerned mother has taken to TikTok to slam Sky Sports News for airing an allegedly ‘sexually explicit’ advert while her young son was watching its morning programming.
The spot in question was an advertisement for the erectile dysfunction drug Cialis, which Leane Orr claims was broadcast before 10am and featured a range of explicitly sexual scenarios, including showing a couple in a passionate embrace before undressing.
Commenting on the incident, an Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) spokesperson said: “We cannot comment on whether this ad was appropriately scheduled without it going through our internal processes , ie. assessing complaints and establishing whether our rules have been broken and if there are grounds for action.
“Broadcast ads are precleared and given the appropriate timing and scheduling restrictions by Clearcast. Our rules state that care must be taken when scheduling ads that may be unsuitable for children.
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They continued: “We encourage anyone who sees an ad that they believe is inappropriately scheduled to get in touch with us using our online complaint form so we can look into this further.”
The news follows recent advertising controversies concerning Sky Media-backed period care brand WUKA, which aired a boldly explicit spot that aimed to communicate the reality of periods and break down taboos.
These developments have subsequently raised wider questions around how the scheduling of adverts is regulated, and how spots featuring adult-themed content are screened and categorised.
