Member Article

Leeds Mezz club night warned over "sexually suggestive imagery"

A Leeds city centre club night has been warned about its irresponsible advertising following a complaint by Leeds City Council.

The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld six of seven complaints made by Leeds City Council’s licensing department about the advertising of the Tequila UK club night, hosted by Mezz bar in Leeds city centre.

A review of the club’s premises licence was submitted by West Yorkshire Police following a large number of complaints. Subsequent enquiries made by the council’s licensing enforcement officers resulted in a formal complaint being made by the council to the advertising standards regulator – the Advertising Standards Authority.

The complaint challenged whether content in the advertisements published on Facebook, Twitter and Tequila UK’s website and three videos on YouTube breached the ASA’s advertising codes.

The council’s concerns were that a selection of the advertisements and footage “contained nudity, sexually suggestive language and imagery and profanity” amongst other things.

The ASA upheld six of the seven issues the council raised. They did not uphold the challenge made that the advertisements in question were “irresponsible, offensive and harmful, because they were sexist and promoted misogyny and the objectification of women”.

The ruling means that the advertisements and videos must not appear again in their current form. Councillor Graham Hyde, acting chair of the council’s licensing committee said: “We are pleased that the ASA has sought fit to agree with our complaints regarding this irresponsible advertising and has ruled that these adverts must never be displayed in public again.

“This ruling should serve as a warning to other club night organisers that we will take action if we feel that the public is being subjected to offensive and harmful advertising in our city.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .