An advert by vegan charity Viva! depicting a woman eating an ‘offal’ yoghurt, while blood dripped down her chin, has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for being ‘graphic and gory’ and ‘distressing to children’.
The advert, showcased by the charity on apps such as Facebook, Instagram, Duolingo and Poki Games, presented a woman opening the corner-style yoghurt, set to the background of upbeat music.
Produced by Skylark Media, the creative featured a play on words with the diary brand ‘Müller’, as the lid of the yoghurt read ‘Killer yoghurt. Flavoured with a mother’s grief’.
This was accompanied by a parody voice-over that stated the yoghurt was ‘umbilical cord flavour’, ‘blended with brutality and that you could ‘taste the torment in every mouthful’.
The woman was then shown smiling, her happy demeanour juxtaposed with graphic close-ups of the blood on her teeth and lips dripping down to her chin, after licking the lid of the yoghurt.
The advert concluded with an image of an indoor dairy farming shed filled with cows, as a text about the video stated, “Sponsored. Paid for by Viva! Vegan charity… Kill Yoghurts. Excited to tuck in? Intensive dairy farming is on the rise in the UK.”
The film, which received seven complaints, was accused of causing “widespread offence”, while the advertising watchdog warned that “fear of distress should not be excessive” and “marketers must not use a shocking claim or image merely to attract attention”.
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In response, Viva! claimed that the adverts were intended to be parodies and were targeted at adults who would “all be aware that meat, dairy, offal and blood were part of the everyday UK diet”.
The charity added it thought the ads were “mild in comparison” as British viewers were “increasingly numbed to shock factors like death and violence on TV”, but acknowledged if Viva! was to run the ads again, it would “only be on YouTube”.
Yet both Duolingo and Poki Games have announced they have blocked the advertiser with immediate effect. Duolingo claimed the ads had been placed by Google Admob, which it did not control, and Poki Games stated Google had “inaccurately” labelled the ads as “Food and Drink”.
The gaming brand added it would also block any adverts categorised as ‘social issues & advocacy’ going forward.
The ASA ruled that the “graphic and gory” images were “unjustified”, pointing out that Viva!’s imagery was “likely to be seen as frightening and distressing to children in particular“.
It pointed out the charity’s exclusions had “proved insufficient to prevent the ad from being seen on apps that were likely to appeal to children”, highlighting Duolingo had an age restriction of 4+.
“We acknowledged that an ad referencing animal welfare might cause distress to some people,” the advertising regulator said, but added, “We considered the distress likely to be caused by this ad, particularly to children, was unjustified.”.
The ruling comes in the wake of the charity kicking off the campaign earlier this year, with a stunt at Leicester Square featuring vegan celebrity chef Matt Pritchard.
Viva!’s campaign had coincided with an investigation by The Observer that revealed the mistreatment of dairy cows by Müller suppliers in several zero-grazing farms.
Speaking at the time of the stunt, Viva!’s managing director Laura Hellwig said the charity aimed to “dismantle the narrative that dairy is a peaceful industry, when the reality is much more brutal”.
“Our recent investigation revealed that leading dairy brands Müller and Arla get dairy from farms that lock cows in barren sheds their entire lives, causing unimaginable stress and boredom,” she continued.
