The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has dismissed complaints made about online life insurer Beagle Street's monster advert that was broadcast last year.
The complaints questioned whether the advert was unsuitable at a time when children were watching, with complainants saying children between two and seven years of age had become distressed after seeing it.
Beagle Street's advert was given an "ex-kids" restriction meaning it wasn't shown around children's programming, however it was able to be scheduled throughout the day.
The ASA did not uphold the complaint as the comic elements in the advert meaning that it was sufficient to place an ex-kids restriction on the advert.
The ASA response said: "The monster was neither gory nor intimidating, and the man in the bath looked initially shocked, then irritated, but never scared. "
The response also said that the monster "exploded in a humorous way" with a sound of flatulence and so the ex-kids scheduling rule was sufficient.
The ASA's assessment concluded: "While we acknowledged that some younger children had found the ad unsettling, we considered that on balance, given the reaction of the man and the comedic elements, the ex-kids restriction was nonetheless sufficient.
"Therefore we concluded that the ad had been given an appropriate scheduling restriction and was not in breach of the Code."
Last year COVER polled its readers, asking "Do you think the Beagle Street TV advert called 'Life Insurance Reborn' (featuring gremlins) will be helpful in rejuvenating positive consumer views of life insurance?" Two-fifths (38%) said yes and 62% said no.
