London Lesbian & Gay Switchboard ad campaign cleared by
Advertising Standards Authority
An advert by London Lesbian & Gay Switchboard (LLGS), the UK's largest telephone helpline dealing with LGBT issues, has been cleared by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) of using misleading information about the number of gay people in London.
The charity's ground-breaking advertising campaign on the London Underground in December 2007 had stated: “It's said, 1 in 10 people are gay. There are 7 million people in London. You do the maths.” The ASA received a complaint that this statement was misleading, as the figures used in it could not be substantiated.
In its comment, the ASA said that it considered readers would understand that the claim was a subjective estimate rather than a fact. It went on to say that the ad was publicising a helpline for people who were feeling isolated or disadvantaged because of their sexuality, and was not soliciting funding or offering goods for sale. The ASA said “For that reason, we did not consider the claim to be materially misleading or detrimental”.
Designed to promote LLGS's services to the wider London community, the campaign was seen on Tube carriages across the network for two weeks over the festive season. It was the first time that LLGS had used the medium to promote its services to an audience which incorporated commuters, revellers and January Sales bargain-hunters.
Tim Gutteridge, Chief Executive of LLGS, said: “We are very pleased with the ASA's decision in our favour. We had designed our ad to prompt people to consider how many of those around them may be lesbian, gay or bisexual, and to remind people who may be struggling to come to terms with their sexuality that they are not alone. As a small charity, it was a huge decision to use such a prominent forum for promoting our services. This complaint highlights the risks of advertising in this way, as we have limited resources to deal with such complaints.”
As well as the challenging statement, the ad went on to remind everyone using the Tube that LLGS provides information, support and referral on a wide range of subjects such as coming to terms with your sexuality and coming out, finding places to go and exploring the ‘gay' scene, with a special emphasis on information about safer sex and sexual health.
The ad campaign came at the close of a momentous year for LLGS in 2007. In August, Tim Gutteridge took up his post as LLGS's first-ever Chief Executive. The charity took the difficult decision to set its service hours; it now operates 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day of the week every week of the year. LLGS received two awards in 2007 – in June, the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service 2007; and in November, the Barclays & Stonewall Award for Community Group of the Year 2007. And the ad campaign itself launched the charity's new branding which was unveiled in October.
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