"Daddy's holding a knife!" - ASAI rules on "inappropriate" Garda radio advert

The Advertising Standards Authority Ireland (ASAI) have returned a decision on a complaint made about a radio advertisement for An Garda Síochána’s recruitment drive. 

The radio ad in question was played on 2FM and featured a 999 call from a child asking for help “because their dad was holding a knife and had hurt their mum.”  

The advertisement featured the sound effects of Gardaí appearing to break down the door and shouting at the assailant to ‘drop the knife’.

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This was then followed by a voiceover which stated, “An armed incident is usually over in seconds, but the people we help, that stays with us forever. It reminds us that it’s a tough job but it’s a job worth doing. Join An Garda Síochána today.”

According to the ASAI, the individual who made the complaint about the advertisement considered it “inappropriate to air during a late afternoon radio programme when children were in the car on the way home from school.” 

The complainant recalled how their 6-year-old child was “distraught” upon hearing the advertisement, and how at bedtime that night, had questioned whether it was real and if the Garda had been able to save the child.

In response, the advertiser - An Garda Síochána - explained it was important for their advertising campaigns to be reflective of what the Gardaí encounter during the course of their work. 

An Garda Síochána said they had liaised closely with members of the Armed Support Unit, both those on the frontline as well as senior management, in a bid to ensure the radio advertisement genuinely reflected the types of incidents to which Armed Support Unit members are called.

They added that the advertisement had not been exaggerated for dramatic purposes and that “the Armed Support Unit had been called to many incidents where a perpetrator had been threatening a woman and children with a weapon, and that weapon was often a knife.”

An Garda Síochána said they had complied in full with the time restriction imposed on the 2FM advertisement, which was prohibited from airing between 6am and 10am, a period traditionally regarded as “family time”.

They went on to express the view that any fear or distress potentially caused at the beginning of the advertisement was swiftly assuaged given that after just 11 seconds into the advert, the Gardaí could be heard arriving to help the mother and child. 

In their response, they pointed out that it was clear from the sound of the knife dropping that the perpetrator had been apprehended by the Gardaí before serious physical harm was caused.

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In response, the ASAI ruled in favour of An Garda Síochána and did not uphold the complaint.

The advertising body noted that the advertisement “had featured the depiction of the reporting and response to an armed incident and that it had reflected a situation that was encountered by Gardaí.” 

While the ASAI appreciated the concerns raised by the complainant, they noted that the depiction of the situation was one half of the advertisement and that the remainder of the advertisement had featured a voiceover only. 

The ASAI ruled that they were not of the view the advertisement had used any provocative copy merely to attract attention, nor did they consider the advertisement to have caused unnecessary fear and distress.  

As such they have closed the matter and stated that no further action will be taken.