An anti-dairy advert from Bristol-based vegan charity Viva! has been banned after receiving 25 complaints, with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruling that its content was “insensitive” and “likely to cause distress”.
The cinema ad showed a mother putting her newborn to bed before a sinister bogeyman materialised and the baby disappeared.
The shadowy figure then announced that the infant had been taken and would not return because he needed the mother’s milk – in an analogy for dairy cows’ calves being taken from them.
The ASA judged the ad “was likely to be particularly upsetting for viewers with experience of child loss or fertility issues, in particular because the parallel with dairy industry practices was revealed only in the latter half”.
But Viva!’s founder and director, Juliet Gellatley, said the charity “strongly rejects” the decision. “It is an entirely subjective judgement and ignores both its own investigators and cinema advertising experts who ruled the ad is suitable for a 15+ audience,” she said.
Trade body: Ad was ‘restrained in tone’
The ad, which the charity said had been primarily screened alongside horror, sci-fi and thriller films, and which also ran on social media, carried a 15 rating from the British Board of Film Classification.
Trade body the Cinema Advertising Association (CAA) considered it likely to distress younger viewers.
However, CAA representatives told the ASA they “believed the use of horror tropes, such as the shadowy figure by the cot, was within the guidelines for the equivalent film age rating and comparable to content found in horror films”.
“They said the ad used metaphor to make an emotional connection with the audience and was restrained in tone,” the ASA ruling said.
“While they acknowledged some viewers might be affected by the appearance of the ‘bogeyman’ and that those with personal experience of infant loss might find the imagery distressing, they believed that did not override Viva!’s right to communicate their message.”
Viva!, meanwhile, told the ASA the ad was based on factual information and was intended to inform and encourage ethical choices, not to shock. The charity cited a survey that found 59% of respondents did not know cows must give birth in order to produce milk.
The ad attracted 25 complaints during its run in March and April 2025, including one from the Dairy Council of Northern Ireland. The CAA received six complaints directly. Viva! claimed its overall reach was around 3.5 million viewers.
The ASA confirmed to Civil Society that its own draft recommendation was that the advert had broken no rules.
But the ASA Council, a jury which makes final decisions, concluded it had breached standards around social responsibility and harm and offence, and must not be shown again in its original form.
The ASA declined to comment further on the matter.
Charity: ‘The aim was to connect emotionally’
This week’s ruling follows a case in 2023 in which the ASA banned another advert by Viva! that was deemed to be “graphic and gory”.
That advert, seen on social media, showed a woman eating a yoghurt that was then seen to contain bloody and raw offal meat.
Gellatley, the charity’s CEO, said Viva! approached its new ad with the understanding “that this is a deeply sensitive topic”.
“Care had been taken to ensure the scene was obviously symbolic; a fantasy rather than literal,” she said.
“The aim was to shine a light on animal suffering in a way that connects emotionally – not to trivialise human grief.”
Gellatley said her charity believes the ASA’s decision “raises serious concerns” about its independence and objectivity.
“This ruling is nothing short of censorship – it’s based entirely on subjective opinion, not facts nor evidence,” she said. “Meanwhile, adverts from the meat and dairy industries continue to present staggeringly false portrayals of idyllic farms – and the ASA does nothing. Their priorities are clear.”
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