A move towards ethical advertising?

An article in the press made me chuckle at first, and afterwards, made me think..

Ads featuring Julia Roberts and Christy Turlington for a beauty product of giant L'Oreal were banned by the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The ASA stated the retouched images misled consumers by exaggerating the results the beauty products could achieve.

The advertising agency admitted the images had been "digitally retouched" to lighten the skin, clean up make-up, reduce dark shadows and shading around the eyes, smooth the lips and darken the eyebrows. Maybelline argued that despite the techniques used, the "image accurately illustrated the results the product could achieve".

"Bullocks", said the ASA, and both ads had to go. (Source)


So... I was thinking.. After The News of the World scandal where reporters hacked mobile phones, and bribed police to "ping" locations of people through the mobile network, maybe a movement started for more ethics in the press.

After all, think about it. How many ads do we know which are NOT misleading? Which washing powder does not claim it gives the whitest or most colourful garments? Which hamburger joint does not claim to give you the biggest, juicy-est? Which deep-freeze fish manufacturer does not claim their products go straight from the sea (ploop) into the deep-frost?

I always thought it would be fun to make a TV show challenging those claims, and confronting the company executives with the truth.. Would that not be worthwhile?


Pictures courtesy L'Oreal and Photoshop.

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Shell in Nigeria.

Discovered via Platform London

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British children's authors considered potential child sex offenders

How weird a well-intended legislation sometimes goes...

The UK Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) is managed by the Independent Safeguarding Authority, set up after the 2002 murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells by Ian Huntley, a janitor at their school.

All individuals working with children will be required to register with a national database for a fee of £64. And that includes authors of children's books who give presentations at schools.

The new scheme has every individual working in a field that requires more than a tiny amount of contact with children and/or vulnerable adults to be vetted. If they are passed, they will be placed on a register that says they are allowed to work in a regulated field. If they are barred, they will go on a separate register and it will be a criminal offence for them to try and obtain work in a regulated field, carrying a penalty of up to five years in prison. It will also be illegal for anyone to employ them. (Full)

Picture courtesy Matt's Notepad

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The story of Iran - Part I

In view of the recent happenings in Iran, here is a series of BBC videos on the history of Iran's political relationship with the West.

The first series of videos is a BBC documentary in which writer and journalist Christopher de Bellaigue explores the history of Britain's relations with Iran. From the times where the Brits used Iran as a buffer state protecting "their" India up to the present.

Part I:



Here is the rest of the documentary:
Iran and Britain - Part II
Iran and Britain - Part III
Iran and Britain - Part IV
Iran and Britain - Part V
Iran and Britain - Part VI

I don't have to remind you that these videos are made by a Western broadcaster, giving the views from the West. But still interesting viewing.

Videos posted by Ali Sanaei, discovered via Global Dashboard

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News: UK's Supernanny Not That "Super" (UN)

Britain faces severe international criticism for imprisoning children as young as 10, tolerating corporal punishment and broadcasting "invasive" reality television shows such as Supernanny.

The UN's committee on the rights of the child (CRC) is due to release its latest assessment of the UK's record of looking after its 13.1 million people aged 17 and under. Areas of concern are likely to include Britain's record on eradicating child poverty, its relatively low age of criminal responsibility, the use of asbos on children and the provision of health services for adolescents.

The UN noted that more children aged between 10 and 14 are being locked up in England and Wales - increasingly for more minor offences - than in any western European country.

One rapporteur, Lucy Smith, queried "the invasion of children's privacy as a result of reality television shows such as Supernanny, which showed children behaving terribly and portrayed them in a terrible light". The use of "ultrasound devices to disperse groups of children ... further infringed on children's right to association". (Full)

More posts on The Road about children

Picture courtesy Channel 4.

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