Tesco Hudl ad ‘not cruel’ rules ASA

Animal lovers have failed in their attempt to get a Tesco ad campaign for the Hudl tablet banned, after the ad watchdog dismissed complaints that its portrayal of a cat falling off a roof was cruel, offensive and harmful.
The TV ad showed two young boys looking towards the camera, watching something off screen. The shot then changed to show a tablet device, which played a video clip of a cat attempting to jump from one roof to another, and missing, with a screech. On-screen text stated “Let’s watch … Let’s laugh … Let’s share … Let’s hudl …”.
But it sparked outrage from animal lovers, forcing the Advertising Standards Authority to launch an investigation.
In response, Tesco said the ad was intended to be amusing and to characterise the fun aspect of the product along with emphasising the opportunity for sharing, learning and having fun with family and friends.
The retailer said the footage was licensed from a company that specialised in “cat funnies” and that contact had been made with the owner of the cat to ensure that it had not suffered any injury.
And, although it accepted there was a certain “naughtiness” to the ad, in that the children were laughing at the cat’s mistimed jump, Tesco did not accept that that would encourage cruelty to animals, or cause serious or widespread offence.
While the ASA acknowledged that some viewers were likely to find the ad distasteful, it noted that the footage did not show the cat being encouraged or forced to jump and therefore considered there was nothing that could be emulated or that was likely to encourage cruelty to animals.
It cleared the ad to run in the future.