Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
COMPLAINTS MADE AGAINST advertisements on Tayto’s Facebook page have been upheld after the state’s advertising watchdog ruled that the posts encouraged excessive consumption of crisps.
A complainant contacted the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI) about three posts on Tayto’s official page.
One of the posts featured two open suitcases filled with packets of Tayto crisps along with the caption: ”Monday musing: ‘Just have one…SAID NOONE [sic] EVER’”.
The second post featured a broken Easter egg containing crisps. It was captioned:
“I’m still working my way through the Easter chocolate & I’m trying out some flavoursome combinations! First up is… Dark chocolate and Cheese & Onion (Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!). Anyone with me?”
The third post showed a sharing pack of Tayto Mighty Munch along with the message: “#CrispPicOfTheDay. A sound spud just sent me this pic. He said he’s not sharing! Who would :)”.
The complainant said the posts breached the advertising code because they encouraged excessive and irresponsible consumption of crisps.
In response Tayto owner Largo Foods said their posts were intended to be “fun and entertaining” and were not intended to encourage irresponsible consumption.
The ASAI’s Complaints Committee upheld the complaint against two of the posts, concluding that they encouraged people to overeat but it rejected the complaint against the Easter egg post saying the use of the term “still working my way through” implied that the crisp consumption would take place at different times rather than in one sitting.
The committee ruled that the two offending posts be withdrawn or amended and noted that care must be taken to avoid the encouragement of excess consumption.
The person also complained that the posts targeted children. In response Largo Foods provided analytics showing that 98.7% of their Facebook fans were over the age of 18. The ASAI’s Complaints Committee dismissed this second complaint.
E-cigarettes
The complaints against Largo Foods are one of 13 case reports in the latest ASAI complaints bulletin.
The ASAI also upheld complaints about a tweet from Vape Business Ireland which referred to using a vape to quit smoking.
As no e-cigarettes are licenced by the Health Products Regulatory Authority for smoking cessation the tweet was found to be in breach of the advertising code. The ASAI ruled that the ad must not reappear in its current form.
A complaint against Aer Lingus over the advertised price of bringing pets on a flight was also upheld.
“The latest complaints bulletin from the ASAI illustrates our ability to handle complaints across a large number of mediums,” the ASAI’s Chief Executive Orla Twomey said.
The ASAI is committed to protecting consumers in relation to advertising – across all mediums – and our approach is to work with all advertisers to ultimately ensure that all marketing communications are legal, truthful, decent and honest.
The head of the body’s Complaint’s Committee, Bairbre Redmond, said it has spent considerable time highlighting awareness of best practice in the advertising industry in recent years.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
thanks god somebody in the country is working hard to help us deal with this particular crisis….
“The complainant said the posts breached the advertising code because they encouraged excessive and irresponsible consumption of crisps.” – I mean why would these even enter your head when looking at an advert? We are a generation of absolute snowflakes! Embarrasing.
@Craig Hickey: don’t let it upset you
@Craig Hickey: here’s my favourite thing about the people who use “snowflake” as a pejorative term in response to articles such as this;
Surely it is their intention to belittle people that they perceive to be too easily upset by what they consider trivia. They themselves would fall under their own definition as such, given their inclination to become wildly upset by an online article which they could just choose to ignore.
Interesting.
@Padjii: I’m not ‘upset’ by the article. It’s just bewildering to me that
A) This is news
B) People are so offended by trivial things these days and invest their energy into making silly complaints such as this when there are much bigger issues in this country.
I could also argue that you also fall under such definition given your reply … Interesting indeed ;)
@Karen Wellington: Thanks for the concern Karen!
@Craig Hickey: ok great thanks
@Craig Hickey: chill, it’s been sorted now, all hunky dory
I weep for the future of the human race
Seriously lads #eatTaytoResponsibly
So, how is a food company supposed to advertise their product, in which they need to sell to make profit while securing hundreds of jobs in the process? I’ll eat an excessive amount of Mighty Munch if i damn well please,but i won’t. Because i’m a responsible(ish) adult and i know my crisp limit.
@Doubtchya Boy!: The only limit I know is the bottom of the bag.
@Link:
And always eat them alone …… amazing how large friends and workmates hands can be!
@Doubtchya Boy!: I remember buying a Real bag of tayto for only 2 old pennies now one is been charged an arm and a leg for a half bag of taytoes they are making loads a profit
@liam ward60:
Peri was the budget option – a smaller bag!
Really… have people nothing better to do? My god those complainers must be insufferable to say the least
I don’t understand? What is too many crisps? Is there such a thing?
Well the Pringles are screwed with their ‘Once you pop you can’t stop’ slogan.
Whatever happened to people being able to make adult decisions on what to eat and to live with the consequences. We don’t need a regulator for everything surely?
Given what precious little was wrong with those ads, I’m going to assume that it was a competitor lodging a malicious complaint – the same way supermarkets do when competitors apply for planning even if the complainant has no presence in the area.
It’s a pity this rubbish is even entertained
Nanny state
Not as salty as the comments in the Journal though!
New flash, a producer wants you to buy as much of their product as possible. In France they are obliged to add little bits at the end of each advertisement like, drink responsibly, abuse of alcohol is bad for your health, or only eat sparingly, eat responsibly, etc.
Maybe, in hindsight, a stronger defence could have been mounted based on the complainants excessive consumption of the Tayto Facebook page…
That’ll be the end of the free bag of Tayto after a day in the Park. Bleddy snowflakes
Is it still 1st April
Is that the bold Samantha Mumba?
have your say