Blair Hitler Comparison Not Offensive, UK Authorities Say

In the UK, some very odd standards enforcement group has ruled that this ad, run by a UK civil liberites group called No2ID in a newspaper was not offensive, after people complained about it, according to Silicon.com's Andy McCue.

A full-page anti-ID card advert that appeared in the national press portraying Prime Minister Tony Blair with a Hitler-style barcode moustache was not offensive, the UK's advertising watchdog has ruled. The ad for the No2ID non-partisan anti-ID card lobby group showed a close-up photograph of Blair with a barcode on his upper lip and text underneath it saying "ID cards have worked well in Europe before".

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received eight complaints about the advert saying the barcode on Blair's lip made him resemble Hitler and that the portrayal of a public figure as Hitler was offensive. The photograph of Blair had been retouched to make it look like a 1930s portrait and the layout was designed to echo the Nazi era. However No2ID said the advert was not meant to portray Blair as Hitler but to be a comparison of Blair's and Hitler's policies. Link.

I don't know anything about how advertising regulation happens in the UK, but according to the the Advertising Standards Authority website, they are an independent body that reviews claims about misleading or offensive ads, makes decsions and then "once the Council has made a decision, the advertisers must make sure that the ruling has been followed, whether that means changing an ad or withdrawing it. Our
Compliance team will ensure that Council's rulings are acted on."

Wonder if both the complaintants and the respondents had to file 27BStroke6s in order to learn officially that this image is not offensive. That's good, because goodness knows what would happen if Compliance team opened a can of Ensure on No2id's butt.

Hat Tip: RC