YouTube drug-taking, sweary rap advert banned by ASA

The ASA stated that the ad was irresponsible and must not appear again as it used swearwords and objectified women.

The self-regulatory organization described the banned advert and said, "It featured a number of scenes depicting the consumption of illegal drugs, including a bottle of amphetamine tablets and a powder consumed through a rolled-up bank note".

"The ad also featured the outline of a woman exposing her breasts which we considered was gratuitous and objectified women," added ASA.

The ASA is a non-statutory organization and so cannot interpret or enforce legislation. However, its code of advertising practice broadly reflects legislation in many instances.

Meanwhile, YouTube claimed that it removed the ad before the ASA ruling.

"YouTube ads should be safe and relevant, and we have strict policies against inappropriate, adult and dangerous content that we enforce vigorously,” said social media giant in a statement.

YouTube further added that its platform has a tool where anyone can report these ads, and these complaints are reviewed by their staff.

Earlier in 2020, tech giant removed nearly 3.1 billion bad ads from its platform.