Vegan campaign group Viva! has hit back at the Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) decision to ban its controversial ‘Dairy is Scary’ ad after complaints that it was “offensive” and “irresponsible”.

The charity’s ad features scenes of a baby being taken from its mother, equating the distressing process with the one experienced by dairy calves being separated from their own mothers.

The regulator received 25 complaints concerning the ad, including one from The Dairy Council of Northern Ireland, challenging whether the ad was irresponsible or distressing, especially to those who had lost a child.

Questioning whether the ASA was being “influenced” by the dairy industry, the charity pointed out that at no point is the baby visibly taken, nor does the ad include any graphic violence.

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Responding to the ASA’s ruling, a spokesperson for the charity said: “The ad appeared in cinemas and given that context we considered there was likely to be an understanding of how films and their tropes operated.

“The ad was classified as suitable for a 15+ audience, and we considered that the tone and imagery were consistent with content in films of that classification.

They added: “The ad further did not include graphic scenes or depictions of physical violence, and the baby was not shown being touched, harmed or visibly removed.

“For those reasons, we concluded that the ad was not irresponsible, was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence or to cause unjustified distress, and therefore did not breach the Code.”

The ASA was contacted by Marketing Beat, but said that as all rulings are final, it would not comment on Viva!’s response.