Household

The advertisement pans in slow motion across various buildings such as residential houses, student housing, council flat, lighthouse, eventually ending with a scene of a family decorating the interior of their home.

Voiceover in a very soft voice is heard throughout:

“We’re all homemakers these days. Some nest in suburbs, tranquil and green. Others in colonies not quite as serene. Some dream in colour, some…somewhat less so. Some are inspired by Michelangelo. Some have an idea, a vision of what could be. Others are back in the folk’s gaff just outside Tralee. Each of us needs a space we can make truly our own. Although we don’t do it in exactly the same way, we’re all homemakers just the same.

Woodies. We’re all homemakers.”

The ASAI received two complaints about the advertisement. The complainants objected to their houses being filmed, or appearing in any TV advertisement campaign, without their permission.

The advertisers said that prior to filming the location manager of the production company spoke with the local county council in advance of the shoot in order to obtain permission for them to film on the West View location.

The advertisers said that it was production company’s understanding that because they were not referring to any one particular house nor were they interacting with any of the houses they did not need permission from home owners.

They said that upon arrival a member of the production company called into the local Garda station to notify them of the film crew’s presence for filming and explained that they had permission from the Council. A member of the production company also called into houses on the street which were near to where they were filming to explain their presence on the green area.

The advertisers said that during filming, the production company set up their camera in the public green area to take a wide generic shot of the street. They said they did not interact with or film any one house in particular and that the purpose of the shot was to show off the architecture of the street.

They said the public parking was used on the street and did not block traffic at any time and that no pathways were blocked as they were set up in the green area.

The advertisers said that the street shot in question was a popular vista which had been used commercially before. They said that the same shot was also available on Shutterstock to buy as a licensed image. They said that in their view this negated the need for individual permission when it was readily available as a stock shot.

The advertisers confirmed that the image used on their website prior to any production and filming of the television advertisement in question was a stock image available to anyone, and was not taken during the filming. This image was removed when asked while they were investigating the matter.

The advertisers said that it was their view that no permission was needed because the complainant did not appear in their commercial and that there was no way that the public could identify the property as the complainants. They said the house in question was part of a landscape and not individually highlighted. In addition, they noted that Code section 3.28(a) set out exceptions where permission may not be required, and included “property depicted in general outdoor locations”. In their view they considered the house in question fell into this exception, being a general outdoor location.

Complaints Not Upheld.

The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response. The Committee noted that there was consultation with the local County Council and Gardai prior to the film shoot. The Committee also noted that the production company explained their presence to home dwellers on the street immediately prior to the shoot taking place. The Committee also noted that the complaint contained a clear objection to their property being depicted in the advertisement without their permission.

The Code provides for permission being required before a person’s house could be featured in a manner which identified the owner to the public. The Committee considered the depictions in the advertisement and were of the view that the images did not contain any indications which would identify a house owner to the public.

The Code also provides that permission many not be required include when a property depicted is in general outdoor location. The Complaints Committee considered that this was applicable in this instance and the complaint was not in breach of the Code.

ACTION REQUIRED:
No further action required.