Here Are The Rude Words UK Advertisers Are Allowed To Use | ||
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Advertisers often use shock tactics to grab the attention of consumers, but occasionally those methods can fall foul of the advertising regulators. CAP, the body responsible for writing and maintaining the UK advertising code, has just updated its guidance on offensive language so advertisers have a better idea of how far they can push their expletives and euphemisms. Here’s what’s OK and what’s not OK in the eyes of the UK ad watchdog. OKLight swearing when targeted appropriately“Bloody,” “shag,” “slag,” “piss,” “pee,” and “balls” are all acceptable “when targeted appropriately.” NOT OKLight swearing targeted inappropriately"Hurt me you slag." Brands can’t run content that carries an allusion of sexual violence. In 2002 a Unilever campaign for its Pot Noodle brand was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for changing its tagline from “the slag of all snacks” to “hurt me you slag.” OKSubtle wordplayIn 2013 the ASA chose not to uphold complaints about the line “Give a fork about your pork” in an ad from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board. NOT OKObvious double entendresWords not usually considered swearwords can still be offensive depending on the context in which they are used. The ASA has previously upheld complaints about the phrases :
OKVulgar languageVulgar language is fine as long as people find it humorous, rather than offensive. In 2009 the ASA rejected a complaint about the use of the word “guff” in a Britvic Soft Drinks campaign, because most people were likely just to find it funny. NOT OKAds that use symbols to replace swear wordsNope, you can’t just get away with it by blocking out part of the word. In 2012 a nightclub leaflet ad promoting a delightful “Valentines fu*k fest” was banned by the ASA. OK
Charities using really strong language.UK charity Barnados’ ran a press campaign in 2007, which ran text stating “He told his parents to f*** off. He told his foster parents to f*** off. He told fourteen social workers to f*** off. He told us to f*** off. But we didn’t.” The ASA rejected complaints about the ad because it raised awareness of Barnado’s, often tough, work. DEFINITELY NOT OKOther brands using words like “F***” and “C***”.These words are deemed so likely to offend they should generally not be used in marketing communications, “even if they are relevant to the product.” One recent example of a banned ad carrying these strong expletives include a product listing for a “UNT” mug on gift website Firebox.com, which, if the handle was held at a certain angle, spelled out a swear. SEE ALSO: The UK Has Just Unleashed a Free-For-All On E-Cigarette Advertising Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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7 Smart Questions To Ask At The End Of Every Job Interview | ||
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Most people know they should ask questions at the end of a job interview, but what do you ask? We found some answers. Produced by Matt Johnston
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10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell | ||
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The Fed Decision Is Coming. The Federal Reserve announces its latest monetary policy decision at 2 p.m. ET, with the final tapering installment and the end of QE3 expected. The Ruble Is Pushing To Fresh Lows. The ruble fell to a record low against the dollar and euro in early trading Wednesday despite a $2.5 billion intervention from the Russian central bank to prop up the currency. Algeria Has Started Selling Light Crude Oil To Venezuela. That’s helping to prop up demand for oil as the price falls from Algeria’s perspective, but it’s a clear symbol of Venezuela’s decline. Facebook Is Taking A Beating. Facebook execs warned that 2015 will be a big year of investment for the company, and the share price dropped 10% in after-hours trading. Deutsche Bank Just Posted A $117 Million Loss And Fired Its CFO. Deutsche Bank reported a quarterly net loss of 92 million euros on Wednesday as heavy legal costs outweighed a rise in investment banking earnings. There’s A 50% Chance Of Russia-Ukraine Gas Deal. Guenther Oettinger told Germany's ZDF TV that a lot had been achieved so far in the three-way negotiations, but when asked what the chances were of a breakthrough, he answered: "Fifty percent." Nintendo Beat Analyst Forecasts. Long-struggling Japanese video game maker Nintendo eked out an unexpected operating profit in its fiscal second quarter, bolstering hopes it may be on track for its first annual profit in four years. Hitachi Profits Surged. Hitachi said Wednesday its net profit for the six months to September nearly tripled to $850 million as the Japanese giant hiked its full-year earnings forecast. Volkswagen Recalls Over 270,000 Audi Cars. Volkswagen’s Chinese joint venture will recall 270,635 Audi cars in China due to an air bag software issue, China's quality watchdog said on Wednesday. Markets Are Rallying. In Europe, Germany’s DAX is up 0.77%, France’s CAC 40 is up 0.33% and the UK’s FTSE 100 is up 0.75%. Asian markets saw significant gains, with the Nikkei up 1.46% and the Hang Seng up 1.27%. SEE ALSO: The 10 Most Important Things In The World Right Now Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Good morning! Here are the major stories making waves in global financial markets early Wednesday. The UK Housing 'Bubble' Is Deflating | ||
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The Bank of England released new figures Wednesday providing more evidence that fears of a house price bubble in have been overblown. Property prices in the UK have risen sharply since hitting post-crisis lows in 2011. Over the past year alone prices have risen by 7.2% across the country, with London prices up an astonishing 18.4%. Much of this is due to deferred demand from the crisis, with many people putting off home moves while the economy was weak, and over-enthusiasm that we could be returning to the halcyon days of the pre-crisis housing market boom. However, September saw a reversal of this trend with a modest monthly fall in prices and new data from the Bank of England suggests there may be further weakness to come. The number of loans granted against dwellings in September fell to 101,008, down from 105,816 in August. The value of mortgage loans over that period fell from £10.3 billion to £10 billion, with remortgages falling by a similar amount.
The slowdown should come as little surprise. Despite a short-lived pickup in the middle of the year, the number of home loans granted in the UK has been in decline since the start of the year. This was initially attributed to the market's response to tighter lending standards imposed under the Financial Conduct Authority's Mortgage Market Review, which came into effect in April. Under the regulation, lenders are responsible for assessing whether a customer can afford the loan they are offered at average interest rates, and banks are required to verify the customer's income before the loan can be granted. (Previously, buyers simply stated their own income with little verification.) The regulator has subsequently been backed up the Bank of England's own Financial Policy Committee, and that committee has been given the power by the chancellor to place limits on loan-to-value and debt-to-income levels in residential mortgage lending if it sees fit. The gradual cooling is precisely the kind of impact that the new regulation is supposed to lead to as tighter lending standards prevent market over-enthusiasm becoming self-fulfilling. However, they cannot address underlying mismatches between supply and demand in highly sought after areas of the country such as London. Nor do they help buyers overcome the rising affordability problem — house price growth is outstripping wage rises. As the Bank of England put it earlier this month: It is not the FPC’s role to control house prices, nor can it address underlying structural issues related to the supply of houses. Its role, as set out by Parliament, is to manage risks to financial stability, including from the build-up of unsustainable levels of leverage, debt or credit growth. The recommendation in this statement will allow it to fulfill that role in relation to the housing market. SEE ALSO: Bank Of England Numbers Say The UK Housing Boom Is Coming To An End Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Ukraine and Russia tackle gas crisis as tensions spike | ||
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Kiev (AFP) - Ukraine and Russia were set on Wednesday to resume crunch EU-mediated gas talks aimed at ending a months-long supply cut that threatens to hit swathes of Europe this winter. The latest negotiations in Brussels come a day after Russia stirred tensions with its war-torn neighbour still further by announcing plans to recognise the disputed leadership polls pro-Kremlin insurgents in eastern Ukraine intend to stage on Sunday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's comments drew a sharp rebuke from US Secretary of State John Kerry and coincided with a decision by EU leaders to keep sanctions in place against Moscow for its alleged meddling in Ukraine. The former Soviet nation staged its own general election on Sunday that saw pro-European forces score a decisive victory at the expense of parties that once backed closer ties with Russia but now prefer to tread a more centrist course. The parliamentary polls saw Western-backed President Petro Poroshenko's political bloc and a party led by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk come close to grabbing 50 percent of the votes needed to form their own government. Poroshenko is busy negotiating the makeup of a new coalition that is all but certain to keep Yatsenyuk as cabinet leader -- an outcome cheered by Western lenders who view him as a market-friendly proponent of economic change. The consultations also include a new pro-European party called Samopomich (Self-Reliance) that finished third thanks to strong backing from the more nationalist and conservative voters in Kiev and western Ukraine.
- Low gas deal expectations -
Several acrimonious rounds of gas talks have failed to resolve a dispute stemming from Kiev's refusal to pay a higher rate imposed by Moscow in the wake of the February ouster of Ukraine's Kremlin-backed president. Russia's state energy holding company Gazprom cut Ukraine's gas deliveries in June -- the third such interruption in less than 10 years. The halt did not immediately impact European clients that receive about half their Russian shipments through Ukraine. But EU nations fear that Ukraine -- its fuel supplies running critically low heading into the winter -- may be forced out of desperation to tap into the gas it transports westwards. The two sides have reached a tentative price deal that would see Russia lower its rate by about 20 percent to $385 (302 euros) per 1,000 cubic metres for the coming six months. But there is still no agreement over Ukraine's debt repayments or the charge for gas deliveries in future years. Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Shlepak said Russia's refusal to budge from its demand for immediate cash payments reduced the chances of any firm agreements emerging on Wednesday in Brussels. "I have the impression that no one wants an agreement -- I mean, first and foremost, the Russian side," Ukranian media quoted Shlepak as saying on Tuesday. Europe imports slightly more than a third of all the gas it consumes from Russia -- a figure that has held steady for the past decade despite EU efforts to find a way to reduce that dependence. And analysts warned that the threat of a gas cut would hang over Europe -- clouding still further its prospects for economic recovery -- until a final agreement between Moscow and Kiev is reached. "A gas deal is critical. Until a deal has been formally agreed the risk of failure and the threat of disruptions to EU customers remain," said Chris Weafer of Moscow's Macro-Advisory consultancy. "The issue for Moscow is who will pay both the arrears of $1.45 billion immediately and a further $1.55 billion by the year-end, and the upfront winter gas supply cost of approximately $2.0 billion." The European Commission said last week that Kiev had requested a further 2.0-billion-euro ($2.5-billion) loan from Brussels to help cover its Moscow gas debt. EU leaders are expected to approve the additional assistance after voicing growing concern over the lingering spat. Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday "to firmly support the search for a swift solution before the approaching winter". Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Robert Downey, Jr. Renewed His Driver's License — And Tweeted About It | ||
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It appears that not long after appearing on-stage at the big Marvel announcement in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Robert Downey, Jr. chose to celebrate the news that he'll be joining in the next epic installment of the "Captain America" franchise by...getting his driver's license renewed. RDJ at the DMV! Well, it is L.A. You gotta drive. It made for a amusing tweet from Tony Stark/Iron Man/The Highest Paid Actor In Hollywood.
From the looks of it, the DMV staffers enjoyed his visit, although we can't really figure out why, this close to Halloween, he couldn't have donned some part of his Iron Man armor. Now that would have been an Elon Musk-level tweet! Now that he's all renewed, the actor can once again slip behind the wheel of an Audi — Tony Stark's car of choice.
SEE ALSO: Photos From The Star-Studded 'Iron Man 3' World Premiere Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Watch What Men Do To A Woman Walking Around New York... | ||
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