AN ADVERTISEMENT FOR a Dublin flooring company was the subject of a number of complaints in recent months with people labelling it offensive and transphobic.
Crumlin-based Hamptons Floor Store ran an ad on a billboard and on its Facebook page in October.
The advertisement depicts a picture of Caitlyn Jenner beside the slogan “Fancy a Change?”
In its latest batch of complaints released today, the Advertising Authority of Ireland (ASAI) said that complainants called the ad “offensive, transphobic and demeaning to transgender people everywhere”.
Other complainants argued that the ad insinuated that a change in gender identification was “as simple as buying new flooring”.
The company failed to respond to the ASAI, with the authority warning them that their advertisement should not appear again.
“HEALTHY eggy bread”
There were a number of other complaints received by the ASAI in relation to misleading advertising.
Lidl were cited for advertising an eggy bread recipe as a healthy back to school breakfast idea.
After being contacted by the ASAI the company admitted that the bread wasn’t, in fact, healthy and agreed to be more careful going forward.
Another complaint was against a hypnotist who made unsubstantiable claims in a press advertisement:
“Lifetime Guaranteed! You will stop smoking in one session or get free sessions until you do. Think yourself thin & the Hypnotic Gastric Band Weight Loss: 3 session program.”
The authority found that the hypnotist didn’t have enough evidence to back up the claims he made. They also warned that proper studies with strong results were needed before you could make claims like the above.
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