UAE | Media

New TV commercial makes parents fly off the handle

An advertisement on regional television channels showing a youth persuading another to try to fly off the roof of a building has sparked controversy, with parents saying it encourages children to perform dangerous acts.

  • By Abbas Al Lawati, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 23:41 October 3, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • The controversial Coca Cola TV commercial showing an Egyptian youth jumping off a building.
  • Image Credit: Supplied picture
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Dubai An advertisement on regional television channels showing a youth persuading another to try to fly off the roof of a building has sparked controversy, with parents saying it encourages children to perform dangerous acts.

N. Al Jaouni, a Jordanian resident, said his five-year old son asked him if he too could jump off a building after seeing a commercial for Coca Cola's new zero-calorie drink. "I changed the channel immediately and told him not to pay attention to such ads. This is worrying, especially after we hear so many stories about children jumping off buildings," he said.

The advertisement shows two Egyptian youth on the roof of a mid-rise apartment building. One of them stands with makeshift wings attached to his outstretched arms, ready to jump, while the other sits beside him, saying that if Coke can do the impossible, then so can he.

A few seconds later, the seated youth is seen alone on the roof, looking down and laughing.

Rebuttal

Coca Cola has downplayed the controversy, insisting that the Coke Zero commercial was not shown on children's channels and it featured young men between the ages of 20 and 29, which is the target market for the drink.

The advertisement airs on Arabic channels such as MBC 1, LBC, Rotana and Al Rai, as well as MBC 2 and MBC Action, which are primarily in English.

Although none of these target children, some are family-oriented.

"It is a tongue-in-cheek ad that captures the brand essence of Coke Zero," said Amer Ahmad, Public Affairs and Communications Manager at Coke Middle East.

Sylvie de Barnier, a UAE psychologist, said the commercial was "irresponsible" even if it used older characters "because adults and teens act as role models for children".

"The first pattern in child evolution is imitation and identification [with adults]," she said.

She added, however, that it was the responsibility of parents to control what their children watched on television. "Parents need to be very vigilant, but ads are everywhere, so they should speak to their children about them."

Some of the parents who denounced the commercial also noted that the responsibility lay with the advertisers as well as parents.

Mounir Harfouche, Managing Director of advertising agency Lowe Middle East and North Africa, said that while he could understand the concerns of parents, the commercial itself was not irresponsible.

He pointed out that some energy drinks show extreme sports that are also dangerous.

"The campaign is obviously using extreme humour... This humour, when exaggerated, does not become believable or close to reality. In fact, there is zero serious intention," he said.

Another advertising industry executive said that while the commercial was questionable, it was important to consider the precarious situations that advertising agencies find themselves in when deciding on appropriate content.

Lack of regulation

With the lack of adequate regulation, agencies often have to make assumptions, she said. "There are no [regulations] here, so you can even get away with much more [than agencies in other countries]," she said.

Advertising executives note that the situation in the region is complex. The Coke Zero commercial Al Jaoni watched on MBC, for instance, was created by an Egypt-based agency and aired on a Saudi-owned channel based in Dubai, that targeted an audience in 22 Arab countries.

Harfouche said that with a lack of laws to deal with youth marketing, and a common body or censor board to monitor and approve commercials, television channels, advertisers and advertising agencies have to self-regulate.

Most markets, he said, have advertising associations that act as regulatory bodies.

In such cases, all advertisers in the region must resort to media monitoring companies for advice.

There are concerns however that a new regulatory body could hamper creativity. "We already have plenty of restrictions in the region based on cultural and political sensitivities," said Harfouche.

Do you think advertisers should be more careful when creating ads with children? How do advertisements affect your behaviour? Have you made a major brand change after seeing an advertisement?


Your comments


I think those objecting to the commercial are hypocrites! They allow their kids to watch Superman and Batman at home or even take them to the movies to watch such films and then protest against a successful and funny ad! Very strange and very contradicting!
Sam
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 04, 2008, 11:40

The response from the Coca Cola company is probably one of the most stupid and IRRESPONSIBLE answers I have ever read!
Y. Vipin
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 04, 2008, 07:58

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