A complaint against a BPEX advertising trailer shown as part of its campaign on Channel 4 has been rejected by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
There were 87 complaints about the 30-second trailer saying what it showed was not representative of the British pig industry.
In its adjudication, the ASA said it acknowledged that some aspects of pig farming in the UK were contentious, but accepted that the Red Tractor Scheme applied measures in an effort to control their use and the pigs were raised to good standards. Â
It also noted the majority of complainants appeared to be responding to an online campaign questioning the general standard of animal welfare on Red Tractor farms, as well as whether the ad implied that all the pigs were free-range.
“The ad made no specific claims that the pigs on Red Tractor farms were all raised to free-range welfare standards and the ad showed, albeit briefly, indoor farms as well as Jimmy Doherty’s farm, which we understood was an accurate representation of his farm,” the ASA said in its adjudication. “We concluded that the images were unlikely to mislead viewers that all the pigs were free-range.”
BPEX’s head of marketing, Kirsty Walker, said the organisation went to great lengths to make sure the campaign as a whole gave a true and accurate picture of the British industry.
“We’re pleased the ASA has agreed with us and rejected these complaints,” she said.