The Guardian’s Saturday magazine supplement in the UK has found itself in some boiling water after placing an ad for watch brand Christopher Ward next to a story about child sexual abuse.
The advert carried the words “Watch porn” above an image of a Christopher Ward watch. However, it was placed next to an article featuring a man convicted of viewing child abuse images online.
The Guardian said it was an “oversight” that the ad was “insensitively juxtaposed” with the article.
“This placement was an oversight by the Guardian rather than anything intentional by the advertiser. We have processes to prevent such inappropriate placing but, on this occasion, they were insufficient and will be reviewed. We apologise for any offence caused,” added the paper in a press release.
The article, which carried the headline “The Knock” shared the views of the wife of a convicted sex offender and her husband.
Christopher Ward told Campaign its media account has been run by an independent, Bath-based agency Mostly Media for about a decade, but said it does not “attribute any blame towards them for this placement”.
Mike France, chief executive and co-founder of Christopher Ward, added: “Our ‘Watch porn’ ad, which we’ve been running for a year, is intended as light-hearted humour to promote the desirability of our watch. The issue here is the context, and we apologise that this particular placement may have caused offence.”
Lead image: Christopher Ward Forum.
