An objection was made to the ASA by the recipient of
the email which offered theatre tickets in London's West End. In a
section on children's theatre and plays, the email was headed with
two young boys' faces and titled "DOING IT FOR THE KIDS".
The email stated: "Like Gary Glitter in a sweet shop, you too
can have your pick of kiddy treats in London's theatre world. If
you don't know what to do with your lovely sprogs, get them off the
X-Box and into the theatre. These shows will definitely be their
cup of Ribena ..."
The complainant, who noted that Gary Glitter was a registered
sex offender in the UK, objected that linking children's activities
with a sex offender was offensive.
Lastminute.com said it regretted that the email had caused
offence and gave an assurance that it had been withdrawn with
immediate effect. The company said its aim was to create
advertising which stood out but accepted that, on this occasion,
there had been an error in judgement and that the email was
inappropriate.
The ASA noted the ad played on contemporary, tasteless humour
based on Gary Glitter's UK conviction in 1997 for possession of
indecent images of children. Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd,
was jailed two weeks ago in Vietnam for molesting two 11-year-old
girls.
The ASA wrote: "We considered the reference to a registered sex
offender in conjunction with images of children in an ad for
children's theatre was likely to cause serious or widespread
offence. We welcomed Lastminute.com's assurance that they had
withdrawn the e-mail and had no plans to use it again."
