A series of ads by online delivery firm Gorillas has been been pulled after the Advertising Standards Authority received 26 complaints over references to sex, drugs and excessive drinking.
Released in April last year, the TV, video-on-demand and social media assets featured strongly suggestive innuendos concerning the use of LSD, ‘poppers’, ‘blow’ and ‘getting wet’.
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Further concerns were raised suggesting that the content was not only inappropriate, but that it also normalised and condoned unhealthy drinking and drug taking.
In a statement, Gorillas said: “We fully accept and understand today’s ASA ruling. The ‘Whatever London Wants’ campaign was designed to celebrate the way customers shop in a light-hearted and humorous way.
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“It was never our intention to cause offence to members of the public and we sincerely apologise for any upset it may have caused. We’d like to emphasise that Gorillas do not condone illegal drug use or irresponsible drinking. Gorillas respect the recommendations made by the ASA and have no further plans to promote the campaign in future.”
Social media platform TikTok has also confirmed that it has taken down an ad that it felt targeted under 18s and violated its policy on promoting the consumption of alcohol.
Confirming its ruling, the ASA added: “We concluded that the ads were irresponsible and likely to cause serious or widespread offence. We told Gorillas to ensure that future ads did not feature references to drugs, sex and excessive or unhealthy drinking that were likely to cause serious or widespread offence or be seen as irresponsible.”
