# Barnardo’s cockroach advert draws most complaints

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2003/12/04/barnardo039s-cockroach-advert-draws-most-complaints/
- Published: 2003-12-04T00:00:00+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**The newspaper advert which showed a cockroach crawling from the mouth of a baby
has generated more complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority than any other
campaign this year, according to Ananova.com.**

![Barnardo's cockroach newspaper advert 2003](https://wfay6x.infiniteuploads.cloud/
2003/12/barnardos-cockroach-advert.jpg)

_Image: Barnardo’s newspaper advert 2003_

The advert was one in a series of shocking images that Barnardo’s has used to highlight
the fact that babies that are born into poverty are more likely to grow up to be
addicted to alcohol and drugs, become involved in crime, or to face homelessness.
The Advertising Standards Authority has received 445 complaints about it so far.

The campaign has clearly had an impact. [Barnardo’s](http://www.barnardos.org.uk)
has previously commented that, with a small budget, this was their aim. Indeed, 
the advert has already generated the fifth most complaints to the ASA to date.

## Advertisement

Barnardo’s says that “The charity has not as yet been informed of the details of
any complaints and so is unable to comment upon them.” However, it is satisfied 
with its success: while acknowledging that some members of the public would find
the campaign shocking, “we have done more interviews on the issue in the last two
days, since the launch of the campaign, than we have in the past two years.”

By contrast the advert was voted one of the top 10 ads of 2003 by _Campaign_ magazine.

## WATCH: Barnardo’s Cockroach TV advert

![Loading](https://fundraising.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/page-views-count/ajax-loader-
2x.gif)