Boy copies ad with coin-eating monster
A PRICE comparison website advertisement has been banned from daytime television after it led to a boy eating coins, the Advertising Standards Authority has ruled.
The Gocompare advert showed an animated creature called Monster Bill sitting on a woman’s kitchen surface eating money.
Since the ad was first broadcast, one mother complained to the ASA that her four-year-old child had copied the creature and swallowed a number of coins.
The complainant said the ad had “encouraged emulation” from small children. The ASA banned the ad from being shown before 7.30pm.
Its ruling stated: “We considered that younger children might not appreciate the fantastical nature of the ad.” Gocompare said Monster Bill was a “humorous and cartoonlike character” and was “clearly not reflective of reality”.