THE NANNY STATE VERSUS CREATIVE FREEDOM

Is the writing on the wall for provocative marketing, following the withdrawal of the latest Saatchi & Saatchi advertisement for Cadbury's Flake? The ad featured a devil-like creature enticing a young woman, which reportedly resulted in the Saatchi agency losing the lucrative Cadbury design account. No co-incidence then that the US food giant Kraft has just sealed a take-over bid for the Cadbury brand?

This seems to mirror the present sensitivity towards explicit marketing, particularly on London buses. The new ads prominently displayed on public transport, such as Armani with Megan Fox and H & M's Sonia Rykiel lingerie range have been strongly criticised for negatively influencing young teenagers. One 78 year-old male pensioner however has been quoted as saying that the ads 'are now his only pleasure', although he's unlikely to be the target customer!

In 2009, the Release Charity had its ads removed from the side of London buses after 'Nice people take drugs' was considered unsuitable. This isn't anything new, as back in 2007 Dolce and Gabbana were forced to pull advertising in Spain when authorities called for a ban due to the ads being degrading women. Recently in Colorado Springs even a bus shelter poster depicting a pink puppet was removed, due to the puppet revealing too much cleavage!

David Cameron has made it clear that if the Tories take power after the next general election, any company that fails to act responsibly with their marketing material will be excluded from Government contracts. Political correctness gone mad, or genuine concern for the potentially corrupting influence of ads that some may find offensive?

So will design agencies become wary of producing a cutting-edge marketing campaign if they fear they'll suffer the same fate as Saatchi & Saatchi, ending up as the scapegoat if a creative concept is accepted by the client and then later withdrawn? Should we continue to challenge the traditional and push the boundaries or tread a safe line and risk having our creativity stifled?