Fcuk gets knickers in a twist

After complaints about the advert, the ASA upheld the claims with part of the adjudication containing the following. We're a family magazine, so we've asterisked the offensive words:

"The Authority acknowledged that "fcuk" was the advertisers'' trademark and that the names of the fragrances were "fcuk™ him" and "fcuk™ her"; it noted the trademark symbol was included after the word "fcuk" in the advertisement but considered that, in the context of the advertisement, which included a sexually suggestive photograph of a man and a woman headlined "scent to bed", the trademark "fcuk™" in the phrases "open here to try fcuk™ him" and "open here to try fcuk™ her" could be interpreted as "f*ck", not just as the advertisers'' brand name. The Authority reminded Zirh International Corp. that it had previously made clear in published adjudications that "fcuk" should not be used in an advertisement if it could be interpreted as "f*ck" and was concerned that they had done so in the advertisement. The Authority considered that the advertisement was likely to cause serious or widespread offence to readers of Boots "Health & Beauty" magazine and told the advertisers not to repeat the approach."

The full adjudication is here. µ