Some viewers thought the television ad wnet beyond the bounds of acceptability
An advert for a charity in which a dad tells his daughter he has cancer made the top 10 most complained about adverts of 2017.
The Macmillan Cancer Support advert, A Dad with Cancer is still a Dad, received 116 complaints after it depicted the girl’s father enduring a number of physical and emotional problems before being comforted by a nurse.
Those complaints made it ninth most complained about advert last year.
However the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said that while some of the scenes were disturbing, Macmillan was provided context” and “addressed the serious nature of the illness appropriately”.
ASA also noted that scheduling restrictions meant the ad wouldn’t be shown at the same time as children’s programming.
Guy Parker, chief executive of the ASA, said: “Tackling misleading ads continues to be the bread and butter of our work, but 2017 again showed that it is ads that have the potential to offend that attract the highest numbers of complaints.
“But multiple complaints don’t necessarily mean that an ad has fallen on the wrong side of the line: we look carefully at the audience, the context and prevailing societal standards informed by public research before we decide.”
Kate Barker, director of brand at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: "We wanted our adverts to portray an authentic picture of life with cancer, which means showing both the highs and lows.
"Treatment and its side effects can often be gruelling, and we understand that this might be upsetting to see.
"We tested our advert extensively with people affected by cancer to ensure we got the tone and message right. Our goal was to reach more people with cancer so they can access vital Macmillan support."
Can you please take the cancer adverts off because it upsets me