The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has not upheld complaints against adverts for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA).
The food labelling scheme – previously Freedom Food – aims to improve the welfare of animals farmed for food, and sets “strict welfare standards” for farms, hauliers and abattoirs. If they meet every standard, the RSPCA Assured label can be used on their product.
The adverts were challenged by Adfree Cities and two other unnamed complainants on the basis that they did not accurately represent the welfare standards of animals farmed under the RSPCA Assured scheme.
Containing a YouTube video, a poster and a TV ad, the marketing drive was seen in May 2024.
The YouTube video, which ran on the RSPCA’s account, featured a selection of different animals singing Aretha Franklin’s ‘Respect’. The song was followed by a scene which showed a snail being placed on a potted plant with a voiceover that said: “What a sight to behold. One snail, delivered safely from harm’s way.”
On screen text read: “Every animal deserves our kindness. Respect. RSPCA for every kind. Search. Share. Support.”
The TV ad was a shorter version of the YouTube video, featuring augmented animals in intensive farming facilities singing Aretha Franklin’s song. It was followed by footage of animals being taken care of.
While the poster had a similar message to the video ads, showing images of a sheep, dog, rat and fox with text that read: “RSPCA […] for every kind […] Every kind of animal deserves our kindness.”
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Responding to the complaints, the RSPCA highlighted that the campaign was part of a new brand strategy to encourage the public to treat all animals with “kindness and respect”. It was intended to start conversations about the treatment of animals and wasn’t “intended to be about any one aspect” of the RSPCA’s work.
The charity added that the campaign was not about the RSPCA Assured scheme and did not contain any references or logos towards, nor did it encourage the public to engage with it.
RSPCA Assured is part of the RSPCA Group but is a separately registered charity and subsidiary.
According to the ASA, the ads did not breach the CAP code. It said: “We had not seen evidence that non-compliance with RSPCA Assured standards was a widespread issue in the RSPCA Assured scheme. We also acknowledged that in any assurance scheme, some members would encounter compliance issues.
“We noted that, furthermore, remedial policies and actions were in place and were activated for farms that encountered compliance issues.”
