Taken from Guardian
Lush's anti-hunting ads bannedJoint campaign by toiletries retailer and Hunt Saboteurs Association censured by ASA over misleading claims
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guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 16 June 2010 09.58 BST Article history
Lush's anti-hunting leaflet
An anti-hunting campaign that ran in outlets of toiletries retailer Lush has been banned by the advertising watchdog.
The campaign involved a leaflet produced by the Hunt Saboteurs Association and a postcard produced by Lush, both of which were distributed in Lush stores. Lush also produced a "Mrs Fox Bubble Bar" to be sold in an online promotion. Information on the campaign was provided on the website, while 100% of the proceeds from sales of the product went to the HSA.
The ads argued that despite the Hunting Act 2004, which outlawed hunting with dogs, "there are still hunters who are intent on breaking the law". They also asserted that "police have stated it's not a priority to enforce the law and have left the hunts to continue their blood sport with little fear of prosecution."
The Advertising Standards Authority received 129 complaints about the campaign.
The watchdog said the adverts' claims that some hunts "were intentionally and frequently breaking the law" was not backed by "sufficiently robust" evidence.
It also said that while it was difficult to gather evidence that illegal fox hunting taking place, there was no evidence to suggest that the police would not enforce the law if they received information about an illegal hunt.
Claims made in the campaign that hounds would be fed back to the pack when they were put down were also misleading, according to the ASA.
Complaints that the ads "were offensive to, and unfairly denigrated, hunts and hunters" were quashed by the ASA, which felt that "consumers would understand that the claims in the ads related to illegal hunting specifically, rather than to hunts or hunters in general".
The ASA ruled that the campaign did not aim to promote violence when advocating the use of "direct action" against hunts, stating that "we did not consider that the ads suggested that violence would be used to achieve the HSA's aims, or that such acts would be required by joining or supporting the HSA."
The watchdog also dismissed complainants who argued that fox hunting was important for controlling fox populations.
Lush's anti-hunting ads bannedJoint campaign by toiletries retailer and Hunt Saboteurs Association censured by ASA over misleading claims
(5)Tweet this (34)Comments ( 8) Dave Jackson
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 16 June 2010 09.58 BST Article history
Lush's anti-hunting leaflet
An anti-hunting campaign that ran in outlets of toiletries retailer Lush has been banned by the advertising watchdog.
The campaign involved a leaflet produced by the Hunt Saboteurs Association and a postcard produced by Lush, both of which were distributed in Lush stores. Lush also produced a "Mrs Fox Bubble Bar" to be sold in an online promotion. Information on the campaign was provided on the website, while 100% of the proceeds from sales of the product went to the HSA.
The ads argued that despite the Hunting Act 2004, which outlawed hunting with dogs, "there are still hunters who are intent on breaking the law". They also asserted that "police have stated it's not a priority to enforce the law and have left the hunts to continue their blood sport with little fear of prosecution."
The Advertising Standards Authority received 129 complaints about the campaign.
The watchdog said the adverts' claims that some hunts "were intentionally and frequently breaking the law" was not backed by "sufficiently robust" evidence.
It also said that while it was difficult to gather evidence that illegal fox hunting taking place, there was no evidence to suggest that the police would not enforce the law if they received information about an illegal hunt.
Claims made in the campaign that hounds would be fed back to the pack when they were put down were also misleading, according to the ASA.
Complaints that the ads "were offensive to, and unfairly denigrated, hunts and hunters" were quashed by the ASA, which felt that "consumers would understand that the claims in the ads related to illegal hunting specifically, rather than to hunts or hunters in general".
The ASA ruled that the campaign did not aim to promote violence when advocating the use of "direct action" against hunts, stating that "we did not consider that the ads suggested that violence would be used to achieve the HSA's aims, or that such acts would be required by joining or supporting the HSA."
The watchdog also dismissed complainants who argued that fox hunting was important for controlling fox populations.
