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DFS adverts banned

Wed Dec 03 11:56AM

Three DFS television adverts have been banned - not because they are annoying but because the sofas featured in the adverts were made to look bigger than they actually are.

The ads, which featured people miming to the Nickelback song ‘Rockstar', were declared misleading by the Advertising Standards Authority because the footage of actors singing was superimposed onto shots of sofas, making the furniture seem bigger than it was.

The watchdog, which received 21 complaints, said: "We considered that the production technique used in the ad meant that some of the sofas did appear large in relation to the actors. Because DFS had not been able to demonstrate that the sofas featured in the ad were accurate reflections of the actual sofas, we concluded that the ad was misleading."

DFS argued that customers visited their stores to examine items such as sofas before they bought them, and that any exaggeration in size would have caused widespread disappointment and large numbers of complaints to Trading Standards, which had not been the case.

The three advertising codes breached by the DFS campaign were that adverts must not mislead the public, that they must not imply qualities beyond those normally provided, and that they must not use visual techniques or special effects to mislead.

Comments511 - 520 of 529

that was the most f******advert i had ever had the displeasure of viewing!
good one there ASA! it sure ruined a good song.

From pjade1507 on Thu Dec 04 09:52PM
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Thank god, i hate those adverts they are so annoying!

From annettevontessles on Thu Dec 04 09:57PM
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they dud ruin a good song lol

From johnohon on Thu Dec 04 10:10PM
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Thank F**K those ads are P**H and nickleback are a Bunch of F**King @#$%!

From iain_str_81 on Thu Dec 04 10:10PM
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I like Nickelback, but the ads cheapened the song. Also, air guitar and miming to songs should be done only in the privacy of one's home (or by fools out on the town!). On a deeper note, well done the ASA for banning an ad that used dubious techincal effects to enhance the product: We have come a long way from the air brush, so the consumer needs to be more wary than ever.

From forest4452 on Thu Dec 04 11:35PM
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those ads are fantastic part of our national treasure ,keep up the good work dfs

From tonycurran7 on Fri Dec 05 07:27AM
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Now how do they still get away with the half price promotion all year round, the sofa's are always half price - it's misleading. and they only use thin leather on suites also i believe, probably!

From shaununouk on Fri Dec 05 10:59AM
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I actually liked the ad, but never even noticed. Kinda funny tho.. No1 really makes sofas 1 size bigger unless they're trying to selling the things.

From anthony.kelly70 on Fri Dec 05 12:19PM
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Would these awfull commercials really make you activley consider a purcase these sofas? The size of the room depicted would be in a house, or appartment, valued at around a million pounds. The researchers should get real and show their products in the bunny hutches most of us live in. Very pleased to see the ban.

From petermdesbois on Fri Dec 05 12:23PM
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everything is smaller on telly.

From clairesarah on Wed Dec 10 07:49PM
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