Vegan ad seen by millions BANNED by the ASA following just SEVEN complaints

A parody advert created by the UK’s leading vegan charity Viva! has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), despite the charity rebutting the false claims made by the ASA.

The ASA ruled that the parody advert New From Killer Yoghurts must be banned for two reasons: it was likely to cause unnecessary distress and serious and widespread offence; and secondly, it was irresponsibly targeted, because it had been seen by children. Both of these claims are vehemently denied by Viva!.

The ASA investigated the advert based on just seven complaints, despite it being seen by over three and a half million people.

Claim of unnecessary distress and serious widespread offence

The advert depicts a woman eating a yoghurt in the style of Müller’s famous yoghurt adverts, but instead of a fruit filling, there are fake umbilical cords and blood, highlighting the gore that is present in the dairy industry. The theatrically staged parody clearly shows that the blood and umbilical cords aren’t real, maintaining a tongue-in-cheek style. The ad also reveals footage of zero grazing units owned by Müller, showing how the dairy cows never graze a blade of grass and are slaughtered when their milk production falls. It also highlights the uncomfortable truth that calves are removed from their mothers within hours or days of birth, and many are slaughtered.

Viva! wrote an extensive response to the ASA when it initially revealed the advert was at risk of being banned. In this response, Viva! expressed that “Viva!’s ad was a parody sketch, sending up a classic ad style, with a woman eating yoghurt with blood and offal. It was designed to raise awareness of the unseen inherent cruelty commonplace in modern dairy farming. The format draws attention to the hypocrisy of large dairy companies, such as Müller, who claim their farms have high welfare standards but fail to say that many practice zero grazing, where cows are confined indoors and never graze.”

Despite this assertion and the fact that the advert is an obvious parody, the ASA responded by stating: “Although we acknowledged people would understand the ad was intended as a comment on animal welfare, we considered the graphic and gory imagery was likely to shock and cause a sense of disgust,” and ruled to ban the ad.

Ad targeted to children without Viva!’s knowledge

The second reason the ASA provided for banning the advert was that Viva! allowed the advert to be seen by children, a claim the charity wholeheartedly denies. In the rebuttal, Viva! stated: “We paid for the video to be shown on Facebook and Instagram to 18-and-overs only. Meta approved the ad according to their guidelines, which are similar to those of the ASA. We used the same video on YouTube, where, like Meta, there’s no option to target under-18s. We chose an audience of 18 to 65+ and provided evidence for this.”

While Viva! only targeted adults with the advert, under-18’s ended up seeing it due to the policies of third-party apps in the Google Display Network. Viva! did everything it could to target the ad responsibly and was not informed that it had been shared in this way

Once made aware of this, the charity took steps to ensure the ad was not circulated via these platforms. However, while Viva! was not responsible for the advert reaching children, the ASA still ruled that the advert must be banned to all audiences, including adults.

Speaking on the decision, Viva!’s founder and director Juliet Gellatley stated: “This ruling by the ASA is unjust and smacks of censorship. The New From Killer Yoghurts advert is an obvious parody, designed to draw attention to the suffering that dairy cows experience every day. There are plenty of gory adverts for fantasy horror films that are shown on TV and online without any issues. Over three million people saw Viva!’s advert and were unoffended, but following just seven complaints, the ASA decided to shut it down. This is ludicrous and perhaps has more to do with our ad making people think about the reality of the dairy industry.
“Adverts for meat and dairy products that falsely show farmed animals living in idyll are allowed to be shown despite them portraying staggeringly fake realities. Viva! has provided evidence that shows it was a third party who incorrectly showed our advert to children without our knowledge; however, this was totally disregarded by the ASA. The ASA is not a government organisation; the work they do is funded by the advertising industry. Given how they turn a blind eye to blatantly false claims made by the meat and dairy industries yet jump on anything potentially seen as controversial by organisations such as Viva!, it’s clear where their loyalties lie. I have heard many say the ASA is at odds with their slogan, “Legal, decent, honest and truthful”.