A Wrigley TV ad has been banned by a UK ad watchdog, with the company also being told to refrain from showing people chewing gum while playing sport of any kind in their future campaigns.
The advert in question was aired in September 2017, and the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) came to the conclusion that it may encourage children to chew gum while playing sports.
As a young woman was about to take a penalty kick on a football pitch, she was seen chewing gum in the advert.
Following the advert being aired, the ASA received two complaints. One suggested that the ad condoned or encouraged a dangerous practice, while the other implied that the ad featured behaviour that was dangerous for children to emulate.
Defending themselves, Wrigley claimed that the ad was acceptable on the grounds that the woman taking the penalty was stationary, rather than being in full motion while chewing the gum.
However, the ASA countered that and said: “We understood there had been several reported incidents of people choking on gum whilst playing sports.
“We therefore considered that chewing gum whilst playing sports was an unsafe practice and one which could be dangerous for children to emulate.”
The watchdog then said that the ad has breached codes 5.2 (Children) and 4.4 (Harm and offence) of the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising (BCAP Code) and subsequently banned the ad.
They also claimed that Wrigley Company Ltd shouldn’t – at any stage – show people chewing gum while partaking in sporting activities in the future.
