Ad Complainers Told To 'Feck Off'

**4me2** · 14th December 2008

Sensitive souls angered at the use of the phrase 'feck off' in an advert have been told where to go by regulators.

A mild rebuff or something a whole lot worse?

The complaints were rejected by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) which ruled the use of the word 'feck' was fair game.
The phrase popularised by the iconoclastic Father Ted character Father Jack was not a swear word, it said.
Cider drink Magners had used the phrase on a campaign poster in which an orchard farmer is quoted as saying "feck off bees".
The instruction was described as a "mild rebuff" by the company.
ASA agreed, ruling it suitable to be used in public and seen by all ages.

If it was an advert featuring a hoody or contained threatening behaviour then the outcome may well have been very different.

ASA spokesman says 'feck' has its limits

The watchdog said: "The use of the word 'feck' in Britain has been popularised by TV programmes such as Father Ted.
"We considered that the tone of the ad was not aggressive or threatening. The term 'feck' was unlikely to be seen as a swear word."
The word has been in popular parlance for over 500 years and has been used to mean "effect", "quantity" or "value" or "amount".
But advertisers have been warned to tread carefully when using the word in future advertisements.
An ASA spokesman said: "This is not a precedent-setting decision and I certainly hope that this does not start a free-for-all with advertisers thinking they can use this all the time."

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