One for our cyclists

[HeyWayne]

Sorry, but this made me chuckle.

Reading Marketing Week yesterday and there is an article:

"ASA defends Diet Coke's 'fantasy' take on Duffy ad"

You may or may not be aware of the advert - the one where Duffy takes a swig of Diet Coke as she comes off stage, then goes off on a "fantasy" cycle through the night, round a supermarket whilst singing away before going back on stage.

Anyhoo, and I quote:

"The advertising watchdog received more than 20 complaints about the TV ad, which features Duffy coming off stage, sipping a Diet Coke, and then climbing onto a bicycle before cycling along night time streets and into a supermarket.

Viewers complained that the ad could be seen to condone dangerous cycling and "behaviour prejudicial to health & safety" because Duffy did not wear protective clothing or have lights on her bicycle. Four viewers also attacked the ad for irresponsibilty because it risked being copied by children."

Come on people!!!

I'm pretty sure a lot of kids aren't going to don a black and white stripey top and blue tights to go cycling in a supermarket at night!!

Thankfully 20 people were basically told to stop being stupid.

[rainbowbrite]

i reckon people think tv influences kids a lot more then it actually does, i remember growing up most tv prgrammes were all based on drugs and i never felt the the urge to try them!

[SlugLobber]

Some people need to get out more! *rolls eyes*

[rana]

Come, come; Britain just wouldn't be the same if society was bereft of prats (and HSE types) that find cause for complaint over such minutia.

[Pumpkin Becki]

I was so struck be the dreadfulness of the song, that the visual content of the ad didn't even register with me. Not one of her best efforts to my mind.

[Alison]

Remember the advert but the only thing that struck me with it was that it was a stupid ad, as if you'd nip out the concert at that point for a drink. People complain about all sorts, pity them, most of them clearly have nothing better to do with their time.

[di]

I so miss Points of view...used to love some of the complaints!

[bobleponge]

Er ... who's Duffy??

And whoever she is, she shouldnt be drinking diet anything. Wrong I tell you. Drink lard!!

[Incy]

Er ... who's Duffy??

And whoever she is, she shouldnt be drinking diet anything. Wrong I tell you. Drink lard!!

If she hasn't hit your French shores count yourself lucky! In my opinion she's rubbish!
As far as the diet thing...So with you! Fat coke all the way

[Pumpkin Becki]

Er ... who's Duffy??

And whoever she is, she shouldnt be drinking diet anything. Wrong I tell you. Drink lard!!

She's one of this bunch of female singers who've latched onto the sound of the 1950's female vocalists, there's a lot of them about at the moment, and she's a stringbean to boot, so yes, she should drink lard.

[sweetiepea]

Come on guys, the 20 who complained really have a point. Can't do my late shopping in Tescos anymore because I keep being run over by croaking teenagers on bikes.

[Two_Sheds]

Wayne ... pmsl

I can't comment further, words fail me

[NOG]

I have a question about that ad...is it a bloke in drag?

[StephenH]

As a cyclist, i say: don't ride on pavements, and don't wear helmets. Especially don't wear helmets, because they are useless, and they discourage people from cycling - in every country where they've been made obligatory, there's been a huge fall in cycle use, which is disastrous both environmentally and health-wise. Also, they give the entirely false impression that cycling is dangerous: in 50-odd years of cycling, inclujding a high annual milage for the last 12 years, I have never suffered a head injury, not even a trivial one, while cycling on public roads: not one! So why on earth do I need a helmet? Do pedestrians and car drivers and passengers never suffer head injuries? If they do, why not encourage or even force them to wear helmets? Why single out cyclists?

[Two_Sheds]

Stephen, I'm with you ... have a look at my earlier thread.
You're right about pedestrians and motorists suffering head injuries, more so than cyclists.
the helmet argument is more to make drivers feel better about themselves "not my fault officer, he wasn't wearing a polystyrene eggbox on his head when I hit him with a ten ton truck".

However, children should wear a helmet (properly ... most parents don't know how they should be fitted or worn properly) because children's skulls are softer and they are much more likely to fall off a bike.

the best protection for a cyclist is to have good 'defensive' riding skills. Unfortunately, training courses are few and far between, and expensive.
the Cyclecraft book teaches them, it's very good. http://www.cyclecraft.co.uk/


* and b-r-e-a-t-h-e