'So what's porno, Mummy?' - Parents' fury as advertisement on buses for 18-certificate film is ruled acceptable

AN ADVERT featuring a word banned from being broadcast before the television watershed has been criticised after it appeared on city buses.

Parents in Edinburgh hit out at adverts for the film Zack and Miri Make a Porno for exposing young children to the word "porno". And they were further enraged when their complaint to the local authority was blocked by a firewall – because of the word "porno".

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) – which has received 149 complaints over the issue – ruled the posters are acceptable as neither they, nor the film, promote pornography.

Andrea Becquemont, an Edinburgh parent, said she was shocked to see the word emblazoned across Lothian buses.

She said: "We were in the car and I was lost for words when my eight-year-old asked me what a porno was. "I just said it's a silly word they use for adult movies. I couldn't think of anything else to say."

Ms Becquemont described the ASA's decision as outrageous. "It is an offensive word because it relates to pornography and the sex trade. I'm disgusted they would find it acceptable for children to see that word on a bus which could travel past schools and nurseries."

She e-mailed a complaint regarding the adverts to City of Edinburgh Council, as the major shareholder of Lothian Buses, but it bounced back.

She said: "If it is acceptable, why won't the council accept an e-mail which contains the word porno, and why is it bleeped out on the radio during the day? Children shouldn't be asking their mum or dad what does porno mean? It's too much."

Iain Coupar, the Lothian Buses marketing director, said: "We received one e-mail complaint, which we shared with our advertising agency CBS Outdoor, who are responsible for commercial advertising on our buses."

He said the company believed the advert conformed to the British Code of Advertising, and stressed that it had been approved by the ASA and the Committee of Advertising Practice (Cap).

He added: "We regret that the advert may have caused some concern. However, we can confirm that all the adverts have now been removed from our buses."

A spokesman for CBS Outdoor said it had consulted Cap on the advert before sanctioning its use across the UK. He said: "Cap judged the advert would conform to ASA guidance, which has proved to be the case."

A spokeswoman for ASA said 149 complaints had been received about the posters for the 18-certificate film.

She said: "It was considered that whilst the word porno and its connotations might be distasteful to some people, the actual film and advert itself contained nothing explicit and that it was not promoting pornography."

A spokesman for Edinburgh council suggested use of an asterisk in e-mails when complaining about an offensive word would get them through the council's firewall. He added: "Words like casino, porno and Viagra are blocked by most office e-mail firewalls to stop spam clogging up employee inboxes."

Ofcom, the Office of Communications media regulator, has strict rules within its Broadcasting Code on swearing on radio and TV before the 9pm watershed. It states that the "most offensive language" must not be broadcast before the watershed or when children are particularly likely to be listening.

BACKGROUND

IN 2005, London Underground chiefs banned posters for a film about the controversial sex professor Alfred Kinsey.

Adverts for the Oscar-nominated movie, starring Liam Neeson, were censored for containing the words "orgasm" and "masturbation".

Promoters were forced to replace the phrases with words such as "pleasure".

Previously, British horror film Creep's posters of a bloody hand scraping the inside of a Tube carriage were withdrawn.

And in 2002, a poster for Ali G's movie Indahouse , featuring Ali's hand on a girl's bare bottom, was banned after a flood of complaints.