The Advertising Standards Agency has ruled against a complaint made by Compassion in World Farming (CiWF) concerning a Red Tractor advertisement, which featured outdoor pigs.
The advert showed celebrity farmer Jimmy Doherty on his own free-range farm, with pigs and piglets wandering around, and Doherty saying: “Now, more than ever, it’s important to know where all your meat comes from, and I think the easy way to do that is to trust the Tractor."
CiWF and 86 viewers complained to the body arguing that the advert was misleading viewers into thinking all Red Tractor pigs are raised to-free range welfare standards.
BPEX told the Advertising Standards Authority it was disappointed by these complaints as it been careful to ensure the advert was representative of farms in the Red Tractor scheme. It argued that it was not unreasonable to show Doherty on his own farm, particularly as the film also showed footage of indoor pigs.
In dismissing the complaints, the ASA said it accepted the aim of the Red Tractor scheme was to ensure pigs were raised to good standards.
"We considered that viewers would understand that the farm shown was Mr Doherty's and featured in the ad because he was, for the purposes of the ad, a representative of the scheme," said a representative from the body.
"We considered that viewers were unlikely to believe that all the farms in the scheme would necessarily be comparable to his or that it represented all the farms in the scheme, only that Red Tractor pigs were 'raised to good standards by responsible farmers'."
NPA chairman Richard Longthorp said: "I am disappointed that, despite efforts by the industry and a personal commitment from me to work closely with Compassion in World Farming on areas that should be of common interest, they continue to wage this war of attrition against us.
"I fear in reality they may be more interested in self-promotion than in genuine promotion of animal welfare in farmed animals across the world."
BPEX head of marketing, Kirsty Walker said: "We went to great lengths to make sure the campaign as a whole gave a true and accurate picture of the British industry. We are pleased the Advertising Standards Authority has agreed with us and rejected these complaints."
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
